Recap: [Virtual] India, May 21, GAAD DAY celebration

[Anil6969]

RECAP OF THE #GAAD 21ST MAY 2026.

I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your wonderful participation, support, and contributions towards our #GAAD celebration Virtual meetup. Your presence, energy, and dedication made this initiative truly memorable and meaningful.

Screen shot image shared by santosh ji

A very special thanks to our incredible Accessibility Champions and Local Guides who made this historic celebration so vibrant with their kind presence, encouragement, and motivation @Katarina_Cibikova @SwetaDhondoo @doc_dells, @Dr_AlwyPaul @Manishhh @KashifMisidia for their valuable inputs, @Globe_Trotter_Ish for supporting as a Connect Moderator, and @Tejal for inspiring new Local Guides to step forward and contribute towards #GAAD.

I truly appreciate the effort of @Erna_LaBeau. Even during office hours, she still managed to attend the session quietly on mute just to support the meetup. Your dedication means a lot.

My heartfelt gratitude to @KashifMisidia bhai and the Connect Moderator from Pakistan who took time out of their busy schedules to attend and support the meetup by sharing their valuable wisdom and experiences.

Special thanks to @TravellerG for the constant guidance and encouragement.

Your support means a lot to us.
I would also like to appreciate Zohra for her kind appreciation and encouragement.

This virtual #GAAD meetup would never have been possible without our co-host @curatorofmemory for helping keep everything smooth and synchronized till the very last moment. The laptop and remote support by @kumaarSantosh cannot be ignored, and special than@doc_delldoc_del@doc_delldoc_del@doc_delldoc@doc_delldoc_del@doc_delldellS t@doc_dell @Shreyamusings and @doc_dell for the chart support and coordination.
Gratitude as well to the entire Local Guides support team.

I am overwhelmed that the interactive presentation Which was appreciated by so many Local Guides.

Accessibility champions local guide specially honored and greeted by all. Credit ghumakad ji

Some of them requested to share personally, and I will DM them without fail.

Thanks to @SonamW who joined my meetup for the very first time. My special greetings also go to many first time attendees like Yogesh Udgire and Nidhi Singh, who have now taken their first step towards contributing to the community. (Welcome to connect)

To all the other Local Guides I am really grateful to each one of you.

During the meetup, all Local Guides took an oath to become torchbearers of Accessibility Awareness in their respective locations and communities.

Post the open house interaction, we had the most exciting and engaging quiz session, beautifully aligned with the spirit of #GAAD to doubly ensure learning in a fun and @TusharSuradkar CM @Ajitthite @SharmaK for the participation and support.

Since the list is long,

please forgive me if I have unintentionally missed mentioning someone. Every contribution, big or small, made this meetup truly special.

And how can I forget our amazing Indian Local Guides who stood beside me throughout this remarkable journey special thanks for them

A big appreciation to @Shrut19 who worked tirelessly with me day and night to make this mission successful.

This mission would never have been possible without the unwavering support of my co-host @curatorofmemory Thank you for believing in this vision and helping bring it to life.

But this is not the end for the day.this is just the beginning.

#GAAD is no longer just an event; it has now become a movement a spark that has ignited across our LG community.

On the request of many Local Guides, we are extending this mission for another 30 days! You can continue posting your accessibility contributions on Connect using #GAAD,
and we will keep tracking the amazing efforts made by our local guides.

We will also announce our Zonal Winners to celebrate and recognize their inspiring efforts and contributions.

Let us continue inspiring, helping, and creating a more accessible aware world together.

Oath taken by all the participants for Mission #GAAD Pic credit @doc_dells
Ye we can make a difference.
As I believe in
T ogether
E veryone
A chieve
MORE
Let’s work as TEAM.

For the offline meeting, the recap will be shared soon…

Till then, Kindly do let me know How was your experience?

Regards,

Thanks for joining

[deepakjhic]

What a beautiful evening it was with so many known faces. Thank you for hosting this meetup. @Anil6969

[AnubhaBangia]

@Anil6969 Sir, what energy and essence this event has. It is so motivating that you are bound to contribute towards its goal and community. It will be a great event and a great team collaboration!! Kudos to you and everyone for all the efforts; it is beyond words. The aura and energy speak it all! All the best, everyone!

[ShreyaMusings]

It was an exceptional evening I enjoyed and learned so much about accessibility features. Thank you @Anil6969 @Kumaarsantosh @curatorofmemory for this meet-up. I liked the quiz that you conducted and congratulations to @doc_dells and everyone who participated

[curatorofmemory]

@Anil6969 . Thank you so much for your kind words and giving me this opportunity to be co host. It was a memorable evening and meet up

[curatorofmemory]

@ShreyaMusings . Thank you so much for joining us.

[Anil6969]

Thanks @deepakjhic ji.

Regards

[Anil6969]

Wow congratulations @ShreyaMusings for winning the quiz thanks for your participation in #GAAD..

Regards

[Anil6969]

Yes @curatorofmemory congratulations​ for your first meet up beleive me you did well.

I am sure you must have some learning to take away..

regards

[Shrut19]

Namaskar
@Anil6969
Great evening with new knowledge of GAAD day , thankyou for hosting..

[AjitThite]

I was outside and busy with some other important things but was listening to the meet-up and your amazing presentation.
Happy to see so many new local guides showed interest in this topic and were eagerly listening to that, and personally, I was very nostalgic to check out some old faces in the meet-up.

Congrats on a grand meet-up, my friend @Anil6969 .

Cheers!

[KashifMisidia]

This was a truly wonderful meetup because your hard work and deep research were clearly visible throughout the session, @Anil6969. That is exactly why all of us got the opportunity to learn so much. As usual, whenever we all come together, we always leave with valuable new knowledge, and this meetup was no exception.

​I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations on this successful meetup to all the attendees, everyone involved in managing the event @Kumaarsantosh & @curatorofmemory , and especially to you, Anil Bhai.

​I look forward to many more such insightful meetings in the future.

[SonamW]

@Anil6969 ji I personally find virtual meet-ups more interesting because LGs from all over the globe can attend comfortably without having to worry about network or travel challenges.
Secondly, the host gets the flexibility to present slides smoothly and conduct activities like quizzes and questionnaires with great ease.

This meet-up was truly special because everything about it felt different and thoughtfully planned.
The presentation was excellent , and the idea of showcasing the Accessibility Champions was absolutely mind-blowing Seeing the pictures of the champions displayed on screen was such a captivating and heartwarming moment.
It beautifully reflected how the hard work and dedication of these LGs have been recognised and acknowledged through these awards
I am sure it must have inspired and motivated many others as well.

The quiz was very well curated and engaging.
However, I would like to request a slightly longer response time perhaps 20 or 25 seconds instead of 15 seconds as people like me need a little extra time to read and process the questions.

I truly loved your hosting style. You kept the entire session interactive, lively, and engaging throughout
The team of @curatorofmemory & @Kumaarsantosh ji along with you, has done a wonderful job in organising such a brilliant virtual meet-up

Since this was my first virtual meet-up with you, I must say my expectations bar has now been raised very high We should definitely have more such informative and inspiring sessions from you often.

Heartiest congratulations to all of you for putting together such a memorable and well-executed virtual meet-up.
Kudos
Keep up the wonderful work

[Anil6969]

Thanks @Shrut19 .

Infact this was my first meet up in Mumbai as Well.

Hope #GAAD must spread in Mumbai and Maharashtra as well.

Regards

[Anil6969]

Thanks @SonamW ji.

@Erna_LaBeau @doc_dells @SharmaK @RosyKohli @TusharSuradkar @ShreyaMusings @Darshraj (from left to right) are in a frame in #GAAD OATH (PIC credit shreya)

Your presence itself is a blessing for so many new LG.

I am happy that you like the preparation and execution of #GAAD .

Even lord Buddha says Each one has got right to live irrespective of caste religion colour and even disability people should also have to navigate with equality.

We are just helping them not to get deprived.

in fact we all including champions also took the oath to take it further

Let’s take this mission further as lot of work to be done.

I remember you asked for slides which I have already shared with you please confirm .

Regards

[curatorofmemory]

@SonamW . Thanks for your wishes and kind words. U have made a valid point wrt time. Will ensure going forward.

[curatorofmemory]

@KashifMisidia . Thank you so much Kashif bhai for your kind words

[Anil6969]

Thanks @AjitThite bhau.

I appreciate your efforts to encourage and promote #GAAD by participating even if you were out of house.

Really thanks for your participation.

Hope this meeting must have value added to the rest participants as well.

Regards

Anil

[Anil6969]

@KashifMisidia indeed bhai

I totally agree with you.

The kind of efforts and pain take for #GAAD is to make real accessibility champions honour and encouraged.the purpose of GAAD to increase the awareness globally.

As this is not restricted with a person place or region.

I really appreciate your help to make this meet up successful.

Even during meeting I have tried to show live to don’t know few people have missed it .

She had appreciate our efforts when we shared we are live in online meet up there on GAAD meet up.

Hope @Katarina_Cibikova @EmekaUlor and @ErmesT will like it.as they are the great contributors and support this cause.

Keep inspiring.

Keep contributing.

Regards

[TravelerProdipta]

It was a very engaging event and there was a #GAAD challenge and please inform us about the results @Anil6969