April 27, 2025 • 28 mins
This week Sam speaks with Maureen O'Reilly from the Vision Australia Library about some events the library will be hosting in conjunction with Melbourne Writers Festival on the evening of May 9.
You'll also hear from CEO of Blind Citizens Australia Deb Deshayes, who joins the show to tell us about the upcoming BCA conference in June, and some of the initiatives BCA will be offering members in the coming weeks and months.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:13):
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:23):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:30):
Through the five people who organized the first convention in
June 1975, and it was actually based in Melbourne. So
you can see there's a bit of a theme going
on there at which our organisation was born. Reflect on,
you know, reflections on why it was needed, how it
came about and who was involved. So we're really fortunate,
(00:51):
as I say, to have three out of five of
those people.
S2 (00:54):
Welcome to the program. This week I catch up with
CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, Deb Deshayes, to have a
chat about the upcoming national convention BCA will be holding
in June in Melbourne, where they'll also be celebrating 50
years of the organisation. That conversation's coming up very shortly,
(01:18):
so make sure to stick around to hear more from Deb.
And then after my chat with Deb, I catch up
with Maureen O'Reilly from the Vision Australia library to have
a chat with me about a series of events coming
up in May in conjunction with Melbourne Writers Festival and
National Simultaneous Storytime. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode
(01:42):
of Talking Vision. I kicked off my conversation with Deb
by asking about the National Convention and Bca's 50th anniversary
coming up in June.
S3 (01:58):
I know it is a very significant anniversary and the
date is roaring closer and closer. It's taking place at
Novotel and Melbourne Glen Waverley on Friday the 13th of
June to Sunday the 15th of June. Our event theme
is individually and together with our presenters are really going
(02:20):
to focus and explore on diverse topics empowerment, inclusion and
innovation very much aligning with Bca's core purpose.
S2 (02:31):
What sort of things can people expect at the convention
in terms of events, keynote speakers, all that sort of thing?
S3 (02:41):
We have our welcome function to sort of kickstart the
two and a little bit days on the Friday evening,
and that's going to provide a really great social opportunity
to reconnect with some members who haven't seen each other
for a while. Branches can then connect people who've attended
our executive leadership program, but also for new members. It's
(03:05):
a great opportunity to get to know other members. And
while you're enjoying some delicious canapés and drinks, and as
an added bonus, we'll also enjoy some wonderful tunes from
our music group.
S2 (03:20):
Fantastic!
S3 (03:21):
As I say, that's on Friday for a couple of
hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday. We
have a special guest opening convention, but we're not quite
in the position to be able to share that news, so.
S2 (03:36):
It can be a surprise.
S3 (03:37):
That's right. Keep an eye on our member updates when
we've had approval to actually share that with everybody. But
what I can share with you is that we will
be hearing from Martine Abel Williamson. She's the president of
World Blind Union about the role that organisations of people
with disability, such as BCA, have played in improving the
(03:58):
lives of people who are blind or vision impaired. And
of course, we'll also be hearing from Vaughn Benson, Bca's president.
S2 (04:08):
And Deb, as we've mentioned, it's 50 years of BCA,
which is an absolutely fantastic achievement and something super worthy
of celebration. So, um, let's, um, go into a bit
of detail about what BCA is doing to celebrate at
the convention coming up.
S3 (04:30):
We do have a number of things, Sam, celebrating our
50 years of BCA through the five people who organized
the first convention in June 1975, and it was actually
based in Melbourne. So you can see there's a bit
of a theme going on there at which our organisation
was born. Reflect on why it was needed, how it
(04:50):
came about and who was involved. So we're really fortunate,
as I say, to have three out of five of
those people David Blythe, John Jon Meacham and Bill jolly
with us. So they will be taking us through some
of that history. And we're also just going to focus
on the beginning of BCA. You know, how it was
recognized that access to information is key to the lives
(05:14):
of our members who are blind, who have vision impairment,
you know, and communication is vital. And interestingly enough, we
still continue to advocate for effective communication, accessible communications across
all modes. So that'll be a really interesting session. We've
also later in that day, we've got our out of
the future employment program discussing building inclusive workplaces for people
(05:37):
who are blind, have a vision impairment. And then we're
going to have a panel discussion, which I think will
be really engaging and of course, advocacy, the heartbeat of
what we do. We'll have a self-advocacy session as well,
run by one of our team that I think a
lot of our members. Anyway, the person who's doing that
will know very well, Martin. And then we move into
(05:57):
other areas like you can't ask that. And that's also
a panel discussion. And I'm not going to dive too
much into that. I might just leave that for a
little bit of curiosity. Again, people can certainly access the
program in more detail. And Sam, let's not forget the
convention dinner, a very exciting part where we get to
(06:18):
celebrate over dinner, the awards, the David Blythe Award, and
the BCA Certificates of Appreciation and Aspirations Award are presented.
So that's really exciting, and we may have a few
other little surprises along the way at the dinner. Of course,
we've got Sunday as well, many things going on there
(06:39):
as well, but if I just touch on a few areas,
we've got support workers and us the changing face of independence.
I think that kind of speaks a little bit for
itself there. So that'll be a really interesting session. And
then we've got our ever popular life hacks. What are
your secrets? Really great for members to be able to
(07:02):
share what works well for them. What's something that they've
tried adapted and picking up some tips? I know myself
when we had BCA connect in 2022, I certainly took
away some life hacks from some of our members. So
looking forward to that one. And a popular one. Artificial intelligence,
(07:25):
a future of independence. What does that all really look like?
So that's going to be a really interesting conversation as well.
That's led by fawn Bennison again, our president. And he
also has some speakers joining him as well. So they're
(07:45):
kind of just a couple of other sessions. There are
some more. So again, please access the program to get
more information. And if you have any questions? Don't hesitate
to reach out to our team.
S2 (07:58):
Who is eligible to attend? Deb, do people need to
be a BCA member to attend the convention, and if so,
how does one sign up to become a member so
they can register for the convention?
S3 (08:14):
Two really good questions. No, you don't need to be
a member to attend. We certainly are open to the community.
If someone is new to vision loss and just wanting
to understand that a little bit more or their family members.
Obviously traditionally it's largely been for our members, but we
really want to be able to provide the opportunity for
(08:35):
everyone in the community to understand the work that we
do and the supports that we provide to people who
are blind or have a vision impairment. In regards to
becoming a member, it's very easy. You can just pick
up the phone, or if you'd prefer to send us
an email and just let us know some basic information.
We don't actually ask you to qualify that you have
a vision impairment. It is all just based on trust.
(08:57):
And then you will receive our information member update via
email and then all our announcements that are sent out
as well. And then then there's some great opportunities to
engage and some of our committee work or to attend
some of our peer connect groups that I can talk
a little bit more about later on, Sam. Certainly, but yes,
(09:21):
it's just keeping all our members informed about the opportunities
that we provide. So yes, if you're curious, please pick
up the phone and give us a call.
S2 (09:32):
We'll get those contact details later on very shortly, in fact, Deb,
but if people would like to register to head along
to the convention in June, what's the best way for
them to sign up?
S3 (09:49):
It's a couple of options. As I say, you can
give us a call or you can certainly go onto
our website and access the information that way. Or if
you just want to send a query to again, we'll
give the details at the end and we can send
the information across to you, those listeners who are members.
If you haven't signed up to receive our member update,
(10:11):
it goes out on Wednesdays, then please just let us
know and we can easily add your email to that
distribution list and all the information is contained in our
member updates.
S2 (10:22):
A very important question. People may be thinking, oh, when
do registrations close by? Do I have a deadline that
I have to get my RSVP in by? What's that
date for people out there.
S3 (10:36):
A week before? So we've kept it open until the
6th of June. In saying that, we do encourage people
to register as soon as possible because that will assist
us with the catering, with the Novotel. And then we've
got a better idea. And earlier we can have that
information the better. So then we know how many people
are actually attending the catering. Accommodation is also available on site.
(11:01):
So we've chosen the Novotel for those key reasons of
having everything in one place.
S2 (11:08):
Makes a lot of sense to get the registrations in early,
and look forward to seeing how the convention pans out.
Now let's get those contact details for people. So we've
got websites, emails, phone numbers. If people either, you know,
(11:28):
would of course love to sign up to their convention
or find out a little bit more, or they'd like
to sign up as a BCA member. What are those
contact details for people out there?
S3 (11:41):
Absolutely. So our phone number is 1800 033 660. If you prefer
to send us an email, you can email us at.
(12:01):
And also our website WW.
S2 (12:09):
Fantastic. But of course, Deb, that's not all that's coming
up in the world of BCA. There's quite a lot
that's going on at the moment, including those peer groups
that you were chatting about before. Let's go into a
bit of detail about them.
S3 (12:28):
Absolutely. Um, and again, it's a great opportunity to connect
with members. We've had our peer groups. Oh, gosh. For
for some time now actually. Um, and it's an opportunity,
as I say, for like minded members to connect on
topics of interest. So I'm excited to share that we
have a new group on art appreciation. And also a
(12:50):
reminder to some of our listeners members about some of
the more longer term groups. We've got the Acquired Sight
Loss Group travel guides trying to go overseas. That might
be on perhaps on the on the menu to enjoy
some warmer weather as we get a little bit cooler
here in Melbourne. And we've got the music group, as
(13:11):
I mentioned, we're going to hear some tunes from them
at convention. And of course, the ever popular trivia on
Saturday evenings, our most attended peer group aside, these groups
meet regularly and we certainly welcome people from all backgrounds
and experience. And a full list of all of those
(13:32):
groups can be found on our website. Or again, please
don't hesitate just to give us a call or send
us an email. If you would like to access a
list of all our peer groups.
S2 (13:40):
Perfect.
S3 (13:41):
We also have, um, Sam, we do have informs called
BCA informs and they're their once a month on a
Tuesday evening on a really specific topic. So for example,
we might have a session on audio description and have
a guest speaker join us. We might have a focus
(14:02):
on employment aligning to our eye to the future employment project.
So again, keep an eye out on information in regards
to BCI and form. We certainly encourage members to participate
in those sessions so that we can hear from you around.
What are the issues, what are the challenges so that
(14:22):
can strengthen our representation for people who are blind or
have a vision impairment?
S2 (14:27):
Thank you very much, Deb. Deb is the CEO of
Blind Citizens Australia. I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to
Talking Vision on Vision Australia radio. Associated stations of Reading
(14:47):
radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed
that conversation there with Deb Deshaies from BCA. If you
missed any part of that conversation with Deb or you'd
love to hear it again. Talking vision is available on
the Vision Australia Radio website. Simply head to RVA radio.
(15:10):
That's RVA radio Dot to find all the latest episodes.
You can also find the program on the podcast app
of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. And
speaking of the library, it's my great pleasure to welcome
back Community Engagement Coordinator Maureen O'Reilly. I started by asking
(15:33):
Maureen to tell us a bit about the upcoming Melbourne
Writers Festival events the library will be holding in May.
S4 (15:41):
Our Vision Australia Library are incredibly honoured to partner with
Melbourne Writers Festival. We have two authors that we're hosting
this year and they will actually be hybrid events so
people can view them online via the live stream, or
they can come in person to the Vision Australia offices
in Keong. So it's a wonderful way to have our
(16:05):
Vision Australia Library members actually involved in what is an
internationally acclaimed festival, and a festival that every other event
is actually in person in the city. So this is
a really accessible event for people because it's out in Keong,
or they can watch it online. So we're really very
(16:27):
proud to be able to offer that accessibility to our clients.
S2 (16:31):
And that's both events. Now, in terms of how people
can find out a bit more about each event, maybe
get a few more details. How's what's the best way
for people to do?
S4 (16:46):
The best thing they can do is to go on
the Vision Australia website, which is Vision Australia. And if
they scroll down to the What's On section, they will
see two event pages for an in conversation for the
Melbourne Writers Festival. So the first one is an in
conversation with Nadia Simpson. And Nadia is a ualarai storyteller
(17:12):
and performer. So she's actually a beautiful singer, but she's
also a wonderful writer. Her first novel, song of the crocodile,
was longlisted for the 21 Stellar Prize, as well as
the Miles Franklin Awards. So Nadia is going to discuss
her newly released novel, The Bellbird, which is actually a
(17:34):
fiction or work of fiction, which is quite unusual for
an indigenous writer. It's a beautiful story of motherhood, creation,
belonging and connection to country. So we're really looking forward
to listening to Nadia speak. I've heard her speak online
a number of times and she's so amazingly engaging. So
(17:56):
she will be in at our Vision Australia offices on
Friday the 9th of May from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
and she will be interviewed all about her current book
and what led her on this journey into writing and
singing and all these beautiful, creative things she does. But
(18:17):
for our clients, it would actually like a bigger evening.
We would love to welcome them to arrive on the
same night, Friday the ninth, but at 6 p.m., because
from 6 to 7 p.m. we had the lovely Kate
Grenville that's going to join us. And Kate is one
of Australia's most celebrated writers. She's published 18 books, including
(18:39):
the international bestseller The secret River. So Kate's going to discuss. Unsettled,
which is her latest book. It's a deeply personal memoir,
reflecting on what it means to be descended from people
who are on the sharp edge of the moving blade
that was colonization. So it's really looking at the colonization
(19:01):
of Australia, but from the viewpoint of a white family
who had very large allocations of land and their interactions
with the indigenous community. And now all these years later,
how Kate is coming to terms with the reality of
her history and her family's history as distinct from what
(19:23):
necessarily was also shared with her as a child. So
there'll be two really, really interesting authors, and both of
the events will be live streamed. So any of our
clients around the country are more than welcome to join us.
And it's a really unique experience because normally the Melbourne
(19:45):
Writers Festival is all in person, it's all in the city,
and it's really difficult for our vision impaired clients, particularly
in regional areas and interstate, to really be any part
of it. So we would love everyone to jump online.
Daniel James, who's a Yorta Yorta Melbourne based writer and broadcaster,
(20:07):
is going to be interviewing both Nadia and Kate. So
it'll be a really fun evening. I'm looking forward to
just sitting back and relaxing and being able to listen
to everyone.
S2 (20:18):
Yeah, no, that sounds like an amazing night for a
lot of people out there and very keen to hear
how it all goes.
S4 (20:27):
And I also have one little secret little gem.
S2 (20:29):
Oh, okay.
S4 (20:30):
Yes. Which is that Kate Grenville actually booked out in
barely over 24 hours, so that's not surprising. In person,
tickets were gone, but I had actually snaffled away on
the side because I thought this might happen. A critical
mass of tickets that are just for our Vision Australia
Library members. So if anyone wants to come into Kooyong
(20:51):
and listen to Cate be interviewed live by Daniel, they
need to register on the waitlist and then they can
either phone or email the Vision Australia library, and I
will release them some of those specially reserved tickets that
are for our library members.
S2 (21:07):
Okay. Well, we'll get some details for how people can
register at the end. But in the meantime, Maureen, I'm
really keen to have a bit of a chat about
another event that's coming up. Simultaneous storytime.
S4 (21:25):
Are national. Simultaneous storytime is one of my favourite children's
library events. So it is a beautiful event which is
run by the Australian Libraries Association and it essentially involves
everyone nationally coming together to read the same book at
the same time, on the same day. So it's creating
(21:46):
this beautiful community of book lovers. And this year's book
is called The Truck Cat, and it's a beautiful, heartwarming
tale about a cat who travels around Australia with a
lonely truck driver until one day he chases a butterfly
and then he gets lost. So the remainder of the
(22:07):
story is about the truck cat trying to find his
way back to his owner, the people he meets along
the way, the relationships that he makes and the people
that help him, and the fact that he needs to
reach out to other people in order to actually reunite
with his beautiful owner. And it's a wonderful story of belonging,
(22:28):
and it has some beautiful descriptions of Australia and the
journey that the truck driver and track cat both go on.
So we will have children gathering in libraries, schools, child
care centres, bookshops, family homes to read this beautiful book together,
making this a wonderful shared experience. A celebration of a
(22:50):
love of reading. So what we are doing at Vision
Australia Library is inviting all of our clients, whether it's
as part of their childcare centre, kinder school, or with
their friends, or with their family or carers to actually
be part of this larger community, which is great because
(23:11):
for our clients who might not go to school yet,
or our clients who don't go to school full time
and don't have a big group to engage with on
this day, they can join us online and connect with
a larger Vision Australia community. And our gorgeous, gorgeous children's
librarian Kylie has put together for everyone a downloadable set
(23:34):
of tactile book instructions so that all of our Vision
Australia Library members and their friends and their schoolmates can
actually create a tactile version of the truck cat book,
the same as the tactile books that we have in
our physics kits. There's also a beautiful instructional video that's
on the Vision Australia website, talking through how people can
(23:58):
create this tactile book, what sort of resources they can
use just from things that they've got hanging around their house.
Particularly for those parents with younger children who will still
have those ubiquitous art and craft boxes which seem to
be filled with everything.
S2 (24:14):
Oh they do. Yeah.
S4 (24:16):
So if people go to the Vision Australia Library website,
which is Vision Australia library, go down to Watson and
click on the National Simultaneous Storytime. They can watch that
video or they can download the book instructions and then
they can make their own book so that they can
actually read along themselves with Kylie while she's doing her beautiful,
(24:42):
accessible reading. And our reading will be very special in
that Kylie is going to be doing a wonderful descriptions,
and it's enhanced with all audio descriptions of the images
and the pictures on the page.
S2 (24:56):
And on that Vision Australia Library website, there's not only
the What's on section, but back to what we were
chatting about a little bit earlier. Maureen, the ability for
people to register, if perhaps they're not yet a Vision
Australia Library member. It's never too late. Always really happy
(25:19):
to have some new members join up, especially in the
lead up to the Melbourne Writers Festival. So what's the
best way for people to register and perhaps an email
or phone number if they would like to find out more.
Or perhaps they're having a bit of trouble signing up,
or just need to ask a few questions.
S4 (25:40):
Beautiful. Well, if they go on to our website just
before they get to what's on, there's a lovely headline
that says join the library and they can just fill
out the online form there. And that's a very accessible form.
But if they do have a problem with that, then
they're more than welcome to actually phone the Vision Australia library.
(26:01):
And that's on one 365 4656. And then one of
our wonderful library staff will help them with the process.
Or alternatively, they can actually email the library. And the
email address is library membership one word at Vision Australia.
(26:22):
And any of the library team can help them with
that registration. If they're already a Vision Australia client, then
it's a very simple process. We literally just tick a box.
If you are not a Vision Australia client, you can
still be a Vision Australia Library member. You just need
to provide verification that you're actually eligible. So you have
(26:44):
a print disability. And that doesn't necessarily mean that you
need to be blind or low vision. It just means
that you actually have a disability for reading a hard
copy print version of a book. So that may be
that some people may be an amputee or they may
have had a stroke, or they may have Parkinson's, or
(27:06):
they may be dyslexic. There's many, many reasons why people
may struggle with a hard copy book, and they are
all eligible to then join the Vision Australia library.
S2 (27:16):
Perfect. That was Maureen O'Reilly, their community engagement coordinator from
the Vision Australia Library. And that's all the time we
have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking
(27:36):
vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all
involved with putting the show together every week. And remember,
we love hearing from you. So please get in touch
anytime on our email at Talking at Vision Australia. That's
talking vision all. One word at Vision Australia. But until
(27:58):
next week it's Sam Culley saying bye for now.
S1 (28:05):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 7476
or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:23):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:30):
Through the five people who organized the first convention in
June 1975, and it was actually based in Melbourne. So
you can see there's a bit of a theme going
on there at which our organisation was born. Reflect on,
you know, reflections on why it was needed, how it
came about and who was involved. So we're really fortunate,
(00:51):
as I say, to have three out of five of
those people.
S2 (00:54):
Welcome to the program. This week I catch up with
CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, Deb Deshayes, to have a
chat about the upcoming national convention BCA will be holding
in June in Melbourne, where they'll also be celebrating 50
years of the organisation. That conversation's coming up very shortly,
(01:18):
so make sure to stick around to hear more from Deb.
And then after my chat with Deb, I catch up
with Maureen O'Reilly from the Vision Australia library to have
a chat with me about a series of events coming
up in May in conjunction with Melbourne Writers Festival and
National Simultaneous Storytime. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode
(01:42):
of Talking Vision. I kicked off my conversation with Deb
by asking about the National Convention and Bca's 50th anniversary
coming up in June.
S3 (01:58):
I know it is a very significant anniversary and the
date is roaring closer and closer. It's taking place at
Novotel and Melbourne Glen Waverley on Friday the 13th of
June to Sunday the 15th of June. Our event theme
is individually and together with our presenters are really going
(02:20):
to focus and explore on diverse topics empowerment, inclusion and
innovation very much aligning with Bca's core purpose.
S2 (02:31):
What sort of things can people expect at the convention
in terms of events, keynote speakers, all that sort of thing?
S3 (02:41):
We have our welcome function to sort of kickstart the
two and a little bit days on the Friday evening,
and that's going to provide a really great social opportunity
to reconnect with some members who haven't seen each other
for a while. Branches can then connect people who've attended
our executive leadership program, but also for new members. It's
(03:05):
a great opportunity to get to know other members. And
while you're enjoying some delicious canapés and drinks, and as
an added bonus, we'll also enjoy some wonderful tunes from
our music group.
S2 (03:20):
Fantastic!
S3 (03:21):
As I say, that's on Friday for a couple of
hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday. We
have a special guest opening convention, but we're not quite
in the position to be able to share that news, so.
S2 (03:36):
It can be a surprise.
S3 (03:37):
That's right. Keep an eye on our member updates when
we've had approval to actually share that with everybody. But
what I can share with you is that we will
be hearing from Martine Abel Williamson. She's the president of
World Blind Union about the role that organisations of people
with disability, such as BCA, have played in improving the
(03:58):
lives of people who are blind or vision impaired. And
of course, we'll also be hearing from Vaughn Benson, Bca's president.
S2 (04:08):
And Deb, as we've mentioned, it's 50 years of BCA,
which is an absolutely fantastic achievement and something super worthy
of celebration. So, um, let's, um, go into a bit
of detail about what BCA is doing to celebrate at
the convention coming up.
S3 (04:30):
We do have a number of things, Sam, celebrating our
50 years of BCA through the five people who organized
the first convention in June 1975, and it was actually
based in Melbourne. So you can see there's a bit
of a theme going on there at which our organisation
was born. Reflect on why it was needed, how it
(04:50):
came about and who was involved. So we're really fortunate,
as I say, to have three out of five of
those people David Blythe, John Jon Meacham and Bill jolly
with us. So they will be taking us through some
of that history. And we're also just going to focus
on the beginning of BCA. You know, how it was
recognized that access to information is key to the lives
(05:14):
of our members who are blind, who have vision impairment,
you know, and communication is vital. And interestingly enough, we
still continue to advocate for effective communication, accessible communications across
all modes. So that'll be a really interesting session. We've
also later in that day, we've got our out of
the future employment program discussing building inclusive workplaces for people
(05:37):
who are blind, have a vision impairment. And then we're
going to have a panel discussion, which I think will
be really engaging and of course, advocacy, the heartbeat of
what we do. We'll have a self-advocacy session as well,
run by one of our team that I think a
lot of our members. Anyway, the person who's doing that
will know very well, Martin. And then we move into
(05:57):
other areas like you can't ask that. And that's also
a panel discussion. And I'm not going to dive too
much into that. I might just leave that for a
little bit of curiosity. Again, people can certainly access the
program in more detail. And Sam, let's not forget the
convention dinner, a very exciting part where we get to
(06:18):
celebrate over dinner, the awards, the David Blythe Award, and
the BCA Certificates of Appreciation and Aspirations Award are presented.
So that's really exciting, and we may have a few
other little surprises along the way at the dinner. Of course,
we've got Sunday as well, many things going on there
(06:39):
as well, but if I just touch on a few areas,
we've got support workers and us the changing face of independence.
I think that kind of speaks a little bit for
itself there. So that'll be a really interesting session. And
then we've got our ever popular life hacks. What are
your secrets? Really great for members to be able to
(07:02):
share what works well for them. What's something that they've
tried adapted and picking up some tips? I know myself
when we had BCA connect in 2022, I certainly took
away some life hacks from some of our members. So
looking forward to that one. And a popular one. Artificial intelligence,
(07:25):
a future of independence. What does that all really look like?
So that's going to be a really interesting conversation as well.
That's led by fawn Bennison again, our president. And he
also has some speakers joining him as well. So they're
(07:45):
kind of just a couple of other sessions. There are
some more. So again, please access the program to get
more information. And if you have any questions? Don't hesitate
to reach out to our team.
S2 (07:58):
Who is eligible to attend? Deb, do people need to
be a BCA member to attend the convention, and if so,
how does one sign up to become a member so
they can register for the convention?
S3 (08:14):
Two really good questions. No, you don't need to be
a member to attend. We certainly are open to the community.
If someone is new to vision loss and just wanting
to understand that a little bit more or their family members.
Obviously traditionally it's largely been for our members, but we
really want to be able to provide the opportunity for
(08:35):
everyone in the community to understand the work that we
do and the supports that we provide to people who
are blind or have a vision impairment. In regards to
becoming a member, it's very easy. You can just pick
up the phone, or if you'd prefer to send us
an email and just let us know some basic information.
We don't actually ask you to qualify that you have
a vision impairment. It is all just based on trust.
(08:57):
And then you will receive our information member update via
email and then all our announcements that are sent out
as well. And then then there's some great opportunities to
engage and some of our committee work or to attend
some of our peer connect groups that I can talk
a little bit more about later on, Sam. Certainly, but yes,
(09:21):
it's just keeping all our members informed about the opportunities
that we provide. So yes, if you're curious, please pick
up the phone and give us a call.
S2 (09:32):
We'll get those contact details later on very shortly, in fact, Deb,
but if people would like to register to head along
to the convention in June, what's the best way for
them to sign up?
S3 (09:49):
It's a couple of options. As I say, you can
give us a call or you can certainly go onto
our website and access the information that way. Or if
you just want to send a query to again, we'll
give the details at the end and we can send
the information across to you, those listeners who are members.
If you haven't signed up to receive our member update,
(10:11):
it goes out on Wednesdays, then please just let us
know and we can easily add your email to that
distribution list and all the information is contained in our
member updates.
S2 (10:22):
A very important question. People may be thinking, oh, when
do registrations close by? Do I have a deadline that
I have to get my RSVP in by? What's that
date for people out there.
S3 (10:36):
A week before? So we've kept it open until the
6th of June. In saying that, we do encourage people
to register as soon as possible because that will assist
us with the catering, with the Novotel. And then we've
got a better idea. And earlier we can have that
information the better. So then we know how many people
are actually attending the catering. Accommodation is also available on site.
(11:01):
So we've chosen the Novotel for those key reasons of
having everything in one place.
S2 (11:08):
Makes a lot of sense to get the registrations in early,
and look forward to seeing how the convention pans out.
Now let's get those contact details for people. So we've
got websites, emails, phone numbers. If people either, you know,
(11:28):
would of course love to sign up to their convention
or find out a little bit more, or they'd like
to sign up as a BCA member. What are those
contact details for people out there?
S3 (11:41):
Absolutely. So our phone number is 1800 033 660. If you prefer
to send us an email, you can email us at.
(12:01):
And also our website WW.
S2 (12:09):
Fantastic. But of course, Deb, that's not all that's coming
up in the world of BCA. There's quite a lot
that's going on at the moment, including those peer groups
that you were chatting about before. Let's go into a
bit of detail about them.
S3 (12:28):
Absolutely. Um, and again, it's a great opportunity to connect
with members. We've had our peer groups. Oh, gosh. For
for some time now actually. Um, and it's an opportunity,
as I say, for like minded members to connect on
topics of interest. So I'm excited to share that we
have a new group on art appreciation. And also a
(12:50):
reminder to some of our listeners members about some of
the more longer term groups. We've got the Acquired Sight
Loss Group travel guides trying to go overseas. That might
be on perhaps on the on the menu to enjoy
some warmer weather as we get a little bit cooler
here in Melbourne. And we've got the music group, as
(13:11):
I mentioned, we're going to hear some tunes from them
at convention. And of course, the ever popular trivia on
Saturday evenings, our most attended peer group aside, these groups
meet regularly and we certainly welcome people from all backgrounds
and experience. And a full list of all of those
(13:32):
groups can be found on our website. Or again, please
don't hesitate just to give us a call or send
us an email. If you would like to access a
list of all our peer groups.
S2 (13:40):
Perfect.
S3 (13:41):
We also have, um, Sam, we do have informs called
BCA informs and they're their once a month on a
Tuesday evening on a really specific topic. So for example,
we might have a session on audio description and have
a guest speaker join us. We might have a focus
(14:02):
on employment aligning to our eye to the future employment project.
So again, keep an eye out on information in regards
to BCI and form. We certainly encourage members to participate
in those sessions so that we can hear from you around.
What are the issues, what are the challenges so that
(14:22):
can strengthen our representation for people who are blind or
have a vision impairment?
S2 (14:27):
Thank you very much, Deb. Deb is the CEO of
Blind Citizens Australia. I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to
Talking Vision on Vision Australia radio. Associated stations of Reading
(14:47):
radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed
that conversation there with Deb Deshaies from BCA. If you
missed any part of that conversation with Deb or you'd
love to hear it again. Talking vision is available on
the Vision Australia Radio website. Simply head to RVA radio.
(15:10):
That's RVA radio Dot to find all the latest episodes.
You can also find the program on the podcast app
of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. And
speaking of the library, it's my great pleasure to welcome
back Community Engagement Coordinator Maureen O'Reilly. I started by asking
(15:33):
Maureen to tell us a bit about the upcoming Melbourne
Writers Festival events the library will be holding in May.
S4 (15:41):
Our Vision Australia Library are incredibly honoured to partner with
Melbourne Writers Festival. We have two authors that we're hosting
this year and they will actually be hybrid events so
people can view them online via the live stream, or
they can come in person to the Vision Australia offices
in Keong. So it's a wonderful way to have our
(16:05):
Vision Australia Library members actually involved in what is an
internationally acclaimed festival, and a festival that every other event
is actually in person in the city. So this is
a really accessible event for people because it's out in Keong,
or they can watch it online. So we're really very
(16:27):
proud to be able to offer that accessibility to our clients.
S2 (16:31):
And that's both events. Now, in terms of how people
can find out a bit more about each event, maybe
get a few more details. How's what's the best way
for people to do?
S4 (16:46):
The best thing they can do is to go on
the Vision Australia website, which is Vision Australia. And if
they scroll down to the What's On section, they will
see two event pages for an in conversation for the
Melbourne Writers Festival. So the first one is an in
conversation with Nadia Simpson. And Nadia is a ualarai storyteller
(17:12):
and performer. So she's actually a beautiful singer, but she's
also a wonderful writer. Her first novel, song of the crocodile,
was longlisted for the 21 Stellar Prize, as well as
the Miles Franklin Awards. So Nadia is going to discuss
her newly released novel, The Bellbird, which is actually a
(17:34):
fiction or work of fiction, which is quite unusual for
an indigenous writer. It's a beautiful story of motherhood, creation,
belonging and connection to country. So we're really looking forward
to listening to Nadia speak. I've heard her speak online
a number of times and she's so amazingly engaging. So
(17:56):
she will be in at our Vision Australia offices on
Friday the 9th of May from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
and she will be interviewed all about her current book
and what led her on this journey into writing and
singing and all these beautiful, creative things she does. But
(18:17):
for our clients, it would actually like a bigger evening.
We would love to welcome them to arrive on the
same night, Friday the ninth, but at 6 p.m., because
from 6 to 7 p.m. we had the lovely Kate
Grenville that's going to join us. And Kate is one
of Australia's most celebrated writers. She's published 18 books, including
(18:39):
the international bestseller The secret River. So Kate's going to discuss. Unsettled,
which is her latest book. It's a deeply personal memoir,
reflecting on what it means to be descended from people
who are on the sharp edge of the moving blade
that was colonization. So it's really looking at the colonization
(19:01):
of Australia, but from the viewpoint of a white family
who had very large allocations of land and their interactions
with the indigenous community. And now all these years later,
how Kate is coming to terms with the reality of
her history and her family's history as distinct from what
(19:23):
necessarily was also shared with her as a child. So
there'll be two really, really interesting authors, and both of
the events will be live streamed. So any of our
clients around the country are more than welcome to join us.
And it's a really unique experience because normally the Melbourne
(19:45):
Writers Festival is all in person, it's all in the city,
and it's really difficult for our vision impaired clients, particularly
in regional areas and interstate, to really be any part
of it. So we would love everyone to jump online.
Daniel James, who's a Yorta Yorta Melbourne based writer and broadcaster,
(20:07):
is going to be interviewing both Nadia and Kate. So
it'll be a really fun evening. I'm looking forward to
just sitting back and relaxing and being able to listen
to everyone.
S2 (20:18):
Yeah, no, that sounds like an amazing night for a
lot of people out there and very keen to hear
how it all goes.
S4 (20:27):
And I also have one little secret little gem.
S2 (20:29):
Oh, okay.
S4 (20:30):
Yes. Which is that Kate Grenville actually booked out in
barely over 24 hours, so that's not surprising. In person,
tickets were gone, but I had actually snaffled away on
the side because I thought this might happen. A critical
mass of tickets that are just for our Vision Australia
Library members. So if anyone wants to come into Kooyong
(20:51):
and listen to Cate be interviewed live by Daniel, they
need to register on the waitlist and then they can
either phone or email the Vision Australia library, and I
will release them some of those specially reserved tickets that
are for our library members.
S2 (21:07):
Okay. Well, we'll get some details for how people can
register at the end. But in the meantime, Maureen, I'm
really keen to have a bit of a chat about
another event that's coming up. Simultaneous storytime.
S4 (21:25):
Are national. Simultaneous storytime is one of my favourite children's
library events. So it is a beautiful event which is
run by the Australian Libraries Association and it essentially involves
everyone nationally coming together to read the same book at
the same time, on the same day. So it's creating
(21:46):
this beautiful community of book lovers. And this year's book
is called The Truck Cat, and it's a beautiful, heartwarming
tale about a cat who travels around Australia with a
lonely truck driver until one day he chases a butterfly
and then he gets lost. So the remainder of the
(22:07):
story is about the truck cat trying to find his
way back to his owner, the people he meets along
the way, the relationships that he makes and the people
that help him, and the fact that he needs to
reach out to other people in order to actually reunite
with his beautiful owner. And it's a wonderful story of belonging,
(22:28):
and it has some beautiful descriptions of Australia and the
journey that the truck driver and track cat both go on.
So we will have children gathering in libraries, schools, child
care centres, bookshops, family homes to read this beautiful book together,
making this a wonderful shared experience. A celebration of a
(22:50):
love of reading. So what we are doing at Vision
Australia Library is inviting all of our clients, whether it's
as part of their childcare centre, kinder school, or with
their friends, or with their family or carers to actually
be part of this larger community, which is great because
(23:11):
for our clients who might not go to school yet,
or our clients who don't go to school full time
and don't have a big group to engage with on
this day, they can join us online and connect with
a larger Vision Australia community. And our gorgeous, gorgeous children's
librarian Kylie has put together for everyone a downloadable set
(23:34):
of tactile book instructions so that all of our Vision
Australia Library members and their friends and their schoolmates can
actually create a tactile version of the truck cat book,
the same as the tactile books that we have in
our physics kits. There's also a beautiful instructional video that's
on the Vision Australia website, talking through how people can
(23:58):
create this tactile book, what sort of resources they can
use just from things that they've got hanging around their house.
Particularly for those parents with younger children who will still
have those ubiquitous art and craft boxes which seem to
be filled with everything.
S2 (24:14):
Oh they do. Yeah.
S4 (24:16):
So if people go to the Vision Australia Library website,
which is Vision Australia library, go down to Watson and
click on the National Simultaneous Storytime. They can watch that
video or they can download the book instructions and then
they can make their own book so that they can
actually read along themselves with Kylie while she's doing her beautiful,
(24:42):
accessible reading. And our reading will be very special in
that Kylie is going to be doing a wonderful descriptions,
and it's enhanced with all audio descriptions of the images
and the pictures on the page.
S2 (24:56):
And on that Vision Australia Library website, there's not only
the What's on section, but back to what we were
chatting about a little bit earlier. Maureen, the ability for
people to register, if perhaps they're not yet a Vision
Australia Library member. It's never too late. Always really happy
(25:19):
to have some new members join up, especially in the
lead up to the Melbourne Writers Festival. So what's the
best way for people to register and perhaps an email
or phone number if they would like to find out more.
Or perhaps they're having a bit of trouble signing up,
or just need to ask a few questions.
S4 (25:40):
Beautiful. Well, if they go on to our website just
before they get to what's on, there's a lovely headline
that says join the library and they can just fill
out the online form there. And that's a very accessible form.
But if they do have a problem with that, then
they're more than welcome to actually phone the Vision Australia library.
(26:01):
And that's on one 365 4656. And then one of
our wonderful library staff will help them with the process.
Or alternatively, they can actually email the library. And the
email address is library membership one word at Vision Australia.
(26:22):
And any of the library team can help them with
that registration. If they're already a Vision Australia client, then
it's a very simple process. We literally just tick a box.
If you are not a Vision Australia client, you can
still be a Vision Australia Library member. You just need
to provide verification that you're actually eligible. So you have
(26:44):
a print disability. And that doesn't necessarily mean that you
need to be blind or low vision. It just means
that you actually have a disability for reading a hard
copy print version of a book. So that may be
that some people may be an amputee or they may
have had a stroke, or they may have Parkinson's, or
(27:06):
they may be dyslexic. There's many, many reasons why people
may struggle with a hard copy book, and they are
all eligible to then join the Vision Australia library.
S2 (27:16):
Perfect. That was Maureen O'Reilly, their community engagement coordinator from
the Vision Australia Library. And that's all the time we
have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking
(27:36):
vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all
involved with putting the show together every week. And remember,
we love hearing from you. So please get in touch
anytime on our email at Talking at Vision Australia. That's
talking vision all. One word at Vision Australia. But until
(27:58):
next week it's Sam Culley saying bye for now.
S1 (28:05):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 7476
or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
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