World Usability Day or Make Things Easier Day[1] promotes the value of usability, usability engineering, user-centered design, universal usability, and every user's responsibility to ask for things that work better. It was initiated, and is still sponsored by, the Usability Professionals' Association, a group dedicated to "those who promote and advance the development of usable products, reaching out to people who act as advocates for usability and the user experience." In 2008, there were over 200 events in over 43 countries.
World Usability Day is held annually on the second Thursday of November. In 2009, this is November 12. Each year focuses on a different theme. For 2009 the theme is "Designing for a Sustainable World" using the "Cradle to Cradle Design" approach.
From the World Usability Day official website:
"World Usability Day 2009 is approaching design from Cradle to Cradle. Coming from a user-centric perspective and looking beyond form and function, we are exploring the impact design has on our World. The ‘Cradle to Cradle’ approach is to start the design with the premise of using materials that can fully enter a new life cycle by either going back to nature or going back into the design process as a new product. This holistic approach to sustainable design shows how usability can apply to all of what we do and build. Designing for a Sustainable World focuses on how our products and services impact our world. We look at all products and services, whether they are buildings, roads, consumer products, business, services or healthcare systems; throughout their life cycle. The impact focuses on - our environment, energy, water, soil, and more. Have the materials and processes that have been used been recycled and are they re-usable? Are they user and environmentally friendly? These are questions we all must consider as we design, purchase, use and dispose of products each and every day."
Details on all historic events can be accessed and searched on the World Usability Day official website.
Additionally, World Usability Day New England 2006 focused on universal usability to enhance learning, effectiveness, and understanding for people of all abilities.