2025 Accessibility Leader Certification Ceremony
36 Science Tokyo members earn certification
On March 16, Institute of Science Tokyo held an award ceremony at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza on its Ookayama Campus to present certificates to 36 students, faculty, and staff who obtained the Level 2 Accessibility Leader certification.
Before being certified, participants complete the Accessibility Leadership Program (ALP), an on demand program designed to cultivate individuals who can promote various forms of accessibility in a diverse society. Those who finish the ALP may, if they wish, take the online certification exam. At Science Tokyo, the ALP is offered through Student Accessibility Services at the Ookayama Student Support Center, enabling participants to become Level 2 Accessibility Leaders. In the 2025 academic year, a total of 36 individuals — 18 students and 18 faculty and staff members — earned the qualification.
Dr. Hirai presided over the ceremony, presenting a certificate to each recipient and offering congratulations and encouragement for their future contributions to accessibility in society.
After the ceremony, a workshop was held on sign language and note-taking for the newly- certified students. Seven participants deepened their learning through hands on practice.
In the first half of the workshop, Mei Nagatomi (1st year student, School of Environment and Society) served as the sign language instructor, teaching participants some of the basics. In the second half, they tried note taking, one of the methods used to provide information support for people with hearing impairments.
Accessibility
Accessibility refers to “ease of use” and “ease of participation.” It is a concept discussed in the context of whether individuals, regardless of disability, physical characteristics, age, language, culture, or other differences, can use or participate in something without barriers. In today’s society, the degree to which information, services, products, and environments are accessible to as many people as possible has become an increasingly important and widely recognized perspective.
Accessibility Leader
The Accessibility Leader Promotion Consortium, which administers the ALP, defines an Accessibility Leader as someone “equipped with the knowledge, skills, experience, and coordination abilities necessary to create an inclusive society in which all individuals, regardless of disability, physical characteristics, age, language, or cultural background, can benefit from accessible information, services, products, and environments.”
Comments from New Accessibility Leaders
- By actually trying sign language and note taking, both of which I had no experience with before this, I became much more interested in these areas. Moving forward, I hope to stay mindful of accessibility in my daily life as an Accessibility Leader.
- After learning about accessibility, I’ve started noticing more moments in daily life when I think, “this has been designed with consideration!” I also discovered that adjusting the settings on my iPad to suit my needs made it much easier to use. I believe that if these kinds of thoughtful adjustments become more widespread, they will have a positive impact on everyone.
- This experience opened my eyes to “inconveniences” and “assumptions” I had never noticed before, and it proved to be extremely valuable. I hope to apply this perspective to the research I am currently conducting.
- This experience gave me an opportunity to think concretely about what we can do to create a society where more people can live comfortably.
- It was a valuable opportunity to learn about the kinds of support measures and systems available for students who speak up about accessibility challenges and in situations where difficulties become apparent through actions and behavior, as well as to understand which specific aspects are personally experienced as barriers. I feel that having even a little prior knowledge will enable me to respond with greater empathy when interacting with such students.
The 36 newly certified Accessibility Leaders are expected to take their first steps toward helping realize a more inclusive society.
- All titles, affiliations, and academic years of the participants are as of the time of the event.
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Contact
Student Support Center at Ookayama, Student Accessibility Services