Join us on November 12th, 2026 to celebrate World Usability Day!"Designing a Sustainable Future with Ethical AI"
This year on World Usability Day (WUD), we are bringing back our popular virtual networking event for UXPA International Members. This member-only free virtual event will be held from 12:00 to 1:30 PM (ET).
The theme for World Usability Day this year is “Designing a Sustainable Future with Ethical AI.” It focuses on how we can bring human creativity and AI together responsibly, while considering ethics, inclusivity, cultural diversity, and environmental sustainability.
Experience a fun and fast-paced virtual event, led by Jen Romano, where you’ll be paired up with a variety of professionals for quick, one-on-one conversations. It’s the perfect way to meet new people, expand your network, and make meaningful connections in a dynamic and engaging online environment. We’ll handle the pairings; just bring your best elevator pitch!
Why join the event?
- Connect with fellow UX professionals in a welcoming virtual networking session led by Jen Romano.
- Exchange ideas and experiences with peers from across the UX community.
- Explore responsible AI through a conversation inspired by “Designing a Sustainable Future with Ethical AI.”
- Celebrate World Usability Day by making new connections and reflecting on how UX can shape a more inclusive, sustainable future.
To register, please Log In or Sign Up and follow the registration instructions.
About Jen
Jen Romano, Ph.D., is an award-winning UX Research Leader with over 25 years of experience spanning academia, industry, and government. As a manager and director at top organizations like Google, Facebook, and Bridgewater Associates, she bridges the gap between scientific rigor and industry demands.
Committed to fostering the next generation of researchers, Jen founded UXR Coach to empower aspiring researchers. Her unique UXR Intensive Training Retreats in Hawaii give professionals real-world experience conducting research in the field with live clients.
As prior President. of UXPA, she founded a global mentorship program and an education short course series, and teaches at UC Berkeley and the University of Maryland. Jen has authored four books, cementing her reputation for delivering high-quality work with both speed and precision.
World Usability Day (WUD), also known as “Make Things Easier Day” (Bedore, 2026), was established in 2005 by the Usability Professionals Association (UPA), now known as the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) International. WUD occurs annually to promote the values of usability, usability engineering, user-centered design, universal usability, and every user’s responsibility to ask for things to work better. The day is held on the second Thursday of November and adopts a different theme each year.
World Usability Day started as an idea sprung from a discussion in the fall of 2004 between two UPA board members, Elizabeth Rosenzweig and Nigel Bevan. They worked together with the UPA board to start World Usability Day and over the years, Elizabeth Rosenzweig has kept it running (WCD Events, 2021).
“World Usability Day was established to focus people on the problems and subsequent solutions related to usability. We want to raise people’s awareness of how much these problems impact all of us. If we can get thousands of people on the planet to focus on one thing for one day, we can accomplish something big. It only takes one day to change someone’s point of view, or to light a fire that can burn for years.” – Elizabeth Rosenzweig (2006)
Across more than 140 countries, WUD has engaged over 250,000 individuals and had an impact on their local communities. World Usability Day has opened up the field of UX and usability in places where it did not exist before the event, such as Eastern Europe (including Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey) (Rosenzweig, Davis, Liu, Bosley, 2024).
References
Bedore, T. (2006, November 14). How About Make Things Easier Day?” [Radio Program]. American Public Media. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/11/14/PM200611148.html
Rosenzweig, E. (2006). World Usablity Day: A Challenge for Everyone. The Journal of User Experience, 1(4), 151-155.
Rosenzweig, E., Davis, A., Liu, Z. & Bosley, D. (2024, January 2). Usability: The Essential Ingredient for Sustainable World Development. ACM Interactions. https://interactions.acm.org/blog/view/usability-the-essential-ingredient-for-sustainable-world-development
WCD Events. (2021, November 10). World Usability Day. World Celebration Days. https://wcdevents.home.blog/november/worldusabilityday/