Russia: Yandex digital accessibility project
Yandex prepared a special project for Global Accessibility Awareness Day
The Yandex website featured stories about how people with disabilities use various technologies.
15.05.2025
Article published on the ASI website
Global Accessibility Awareness Day is traditionally celebrated every year on the third Thursday of May. This year it was on 15 May.
The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of digital accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities and disabilities worldwide.
To mark the occasion, Yandex launched a special project called ‘Digital Accessibility in One Click’. The Yandex team notes that the need for universal access can arise at any time for anyone.
“15 May is Digital Accessibility Day, when we discuss technologies that make the world clearer and more convenient. These technologies benefit not only people with disabilities, but also anyone who can’t see the price tag, forgot their headphones, or are simply tired,” notes the company’s team.
On the ‘Digital Accessibility in One Click’ page, you can take the ‘What kind of inclusive feature are you?’ test and find out what kind of inclusive Yandex technology a person is similar to: a smart camera, audio description, or special features in Yandex Go.
On Yandex you can also read stories of people who actively use universal access technologies, and whose lives have become much easier thanks to them. Margarita, for instance, is a blogger and an expert on audio description. She creates music using neural networks and teaches blind people how to use digital tools. Alexander is an ethnographer, perfumer and teacher. He studies traditional culture, goes on folklore expeditions, creates perfumes in a laboratory and writes notes. He also teaches literature, ethnography and Polish.
“I am completely blind, and technology is my guide,” says Alexander.
You can also learn more about digital accessibility and dispel common misconceptions on the website. For example, accessibility is not just for blind or deaf people. The Yandex team believes that large fonts, clear buttons and subtitles make things convenient for everyone.
Another common misconception, for example, is that if a person has a hearing impairment, then they can be called deaf-mute. But this is not the case, Yandex points out.
