December 2, 2025 • 27 mins
Sam welcomes back Santiago Velazquez Hurtado, who is one of six ambassadors for this year's International Day of People with Disability. He talks about his role, the day itself and what days like this can do to raise awareness and provoke positive change for people with disabilities.
You'll also hear from Liz Dalakouras as she gives a final run down of For Your Information for 2025, and we finish up with a Reader Recommended.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:21):
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host, Sam Colley.
S2 (00:31):
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 (00:39):
If we have exposure at the local level, at the
federal level, if we have exposure in multiple facets of society,
then people will be more accustomed to seeing us. So
when we go for employment, for education, it'll just be normal.
It'll just be yep. He has a vision impairment. That's fine.
He can be a barista. He can study engineering, he
(01:01):
can do whatever. So the objective is just showing the
world that, yes, we're different, but at the same time
we're the same.
S2 (01:09):
Welcome to the program. This week we feature a favorite
of ours on talking vision. It's Santiago Velazquez. He's back
to have a chat with me about his role as
ambassador for International Day of People with disabilities. Well, he's
one of six ambassadors, very excited to catch up with
(01:31):
him to chat all about that. So you'll hear from
him very shortly. Make sure to stick around for that one.
And then after that you'll hear from Luis, the editor
of FYI. Another favorite. She's back with the final edition
of FYI for this year, and then we wrap up
(01:52):
with a reader recommended. I hope you'll enjoy this week's
episode of Talking Vision. You may know our next guest
from his work with Eyesight or Halo, as well as
his role as a UN Youth Ambassador for persons with disabilities.
(02:16):
But today we're here to chat to him about his
latest role as ambassador for International Day of People with disabilities,
which we're celebrating today on the 3rd of December. It's
Santiago Velazquez Hurtado, and it's my great pleasure to welcome
(02:36):
him right now. Santi, welcome back to Talking Vision. Thank
you very much for your time.
S3 (02:43):
Sam, as always, it's a pleasure to be with you
and especially this week that on the 3rd of December
is International Day for people with disability. What a year
it has been.
S2 (02:53):
Absolutely. Yeah, very special week. And, um, a great way to,
as you've said, celebrate as we head to the end
of the year. Now, let's just get a bit of
an overview for people out there about the day itself.
S3 (03:10):
International Day of People with disability is a United Nations
celebration if you will, slash Awareness Day. And obviously it
has become not just a United Nations thing, if you will,
but it's a day where we can celebrate the diversity
that makes this world what it is. With the objective
(03:33):
of not just saying, hey, yep, cool people with disabilities exist,
but with a longer term plan of making sure that
we all understand diversity. We understand that, you know, there
are tall people in this world. There are people who
are blonde. There are people who are blind. There are
people who use wheelchairs and so on and so on
and so forth. And that's the 3rd of December. So
(03:57):
on the 3rd of December this year and every year
we celebrate International Day for people with disability. And the
week before, actually it was International Week for people with disability.
So it's interesting that they happen in two sort of
different time frames, but I guess one builds up to
the day. But it's very exciting.
S2 (04:18):
It's very exciting. And another very exciting thing that you're
involved with is you're one of the ambassadors this year.
That's pretty cool. It's the first time, as I understand it,
you've been an ambassador. So tell us what that involves
and how you got involved there.
S3 (04:38):
It's a bit of an interesting story, because I got
an email this August from the federal government Department of
Social as well as ageing DSA, and they asked me
if I wanted to be an ambassador, and I thought
for a second that it was a scam. Fortunately it wasn't.
I did my due diligence, but you know, when you
(04:58):
get those emails that sound too good to be true.
S2 (05:00):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, but there you go.
S3 (05:04):
To cut the story short as to what it is,
it's this year the government is or has selected rather
six ambassadors with the intent of showing what people with
disabilities can do, how diverse we are, and what representation
(05:26):
across the world and across Australia is able to do
for the broader society. So there are six ambassadors. I
have a vision impairment, so I'm representing sort of that community,
which is an honor. And there are people who are
of short stature, somebody who uses a wheelchair. Hidden disabilities, amputee.
(05:47):
And we're all in different industries. But the main goal
is the Australian government wants to put its hat in
the ring of we live in a global society. We
are all different. But those differences don't change what we
can and cannot do. And with the longer term objective
(06:07):
of if we have exposure at the local level, at
the federal level, If we have exposure, you know, in
multiple facets of society, then people will be more accustomed
to seeing us. So when we go for employment, for education,
(06:29):
it'll just be normal. It'll just be yep. He has
a vision impairment. That's fine. He can be a barista.
He can study engineering, he can do whatever. So the
objective is just showing the world that, yes, we're different,
but at the same time we're the same.
S2 (06:44):
Absolutely. And, um, you know, this might be a bit
tricky to pin down to one sort of major thing, subtlety.
But what does it mean to you to be an
ambassador and have the opportunity to have your say and
spread the messages you have always championed in quite a
(07:08):
few different aspects of society and now as an ambassador
for International Day of People with Disability in Australia. What's
that mean for you and what do you really want
people to take away when they are involved with this
day and all the events that are going on around it?
S3 (07:31):
It's a very interesting question and I have two different answers.
In the first one is it's an honour, right? It's
an absolute honour to be recognised for this position. Right.
And I'll do my best and put my best foot
forward to make sure that whether you have or don't
have a disability, you are recognised equally. Right. And you
(07:55):
have access to the same opportunities as everybody else. In
the other hand, and this is where my conflict, I guess, starts,
because the reason why this exists is because or what
I mean by this, I mean the reason why the
ambassadorship exists and why International Day for people with disabilities
exist is because of the lack of representation that we
(08:19):
have for people who have disabilities, is because of all
the inequalities that exist. It's because of all the systems, processes, services, products,
you know, and you keep going that are not accessible,
are not inclusive. So amazing in one hand, frustrating in
the other hand, because it shouldn't be this way. Uh, although,
as we all know, progress takes time. It takes effort.
(08:42):
So from my point of view, hoping that this isn't
just an ambassadorship position where I, you know, do a
few photo ops and stuff, I'm, I'm keen to do more. Right.
I'm keen to work with the other ambassadors, work with
the Australian government to champion a project, to do something that,
whether it's small or big, it will actually have an
(09:05):
impact because at the end of the day, we can
talk all we want, but if we don't put it
into action, we won't have results. So if you are
listening and if you have something that you're passionate about,
if you have something that you think the government should know,
if you have something that they should work on, reach
out to your local member. Reach out to those who
(09:28):
might be able to help. Don't be shy in terms
of saying or asking for things, because at the end
of the day, if we don't ask, nobody's going to
come knocking on our door and say, hey, would you
like this?
S2 (09:38):
Mhm. Yeah for sure. And that's some where it's all
about fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress, which
of course is the theme of this year's International Day
of People with disability. And they're not just words on
a website. They are very important mission statements and things
(10:03):
like that, that these sort of days are really looking
to champion. And what are you hoping to see come
from that message and that theme for society more broadly.
You've gone into this to some extent already, but what
do those particular words mean from your standpoint?
S3 (10:24):
I think for me to keep it short and simple
and sweet, if you will, the idea that if a
child is born with a disability or if somebody acquires
a disability later on in life, the words basically, my
long term aspiration for our world is for somebody who
(10:44):
has a disability to be able to pick what they
want to study and to be able to have the
support from the school, from their family, from their friends,
from their peers to do so without any hesitation. The
ability for somebody who is going to high school to
also work at a McDonald's or as a barista, just
like their regular sighted peers or their regular non-disabled peers,
(11:08):
because that's something that we don't have in the disability community.
I don't know many people in the disability community who
had a part time job while in high school, who
had a part time job while in uni, so they
could also have the same experiences as those who did. Right.
And longer term. Right. You know, having the ability to
have people who have disabilities just be completely integrated into
(11:32):
our world. Right. Um, a good example I like to
give is a hundred years ago, if you would have
said women should be allowed to vote, should be allowed
to do PhDs, should be allowed to do many, many things.
The answer would have been no. Are you nuts? And
now that's common, right? More work still needs to be done.
And I'm not a woman, so I won't pretend to
(11:52):
speak about that particular topic. But progress has been made,
and that's what we need to do for the disability
community to make more progress so that small things, such
as going out and about and having accessible navigation all
the way through to studying complex things at university, or
applying for a job or buying a house, all of
(12:13):
those things are very easy to do because the world
is just it's just accessible and it just works for everybody.
S2 (12:20):
Mhm. But there are some things that still need more
work to be done around them. And one of those
things is of course public transport, a topic very close
to your heart and something very closely involved with your
passion project, your work, more importantly with Halo. So give
(12:41):
us a bit of a Halo update. What's the latest
from that side of things that you can let our
listeners know about?
S3 (12:49):
The latest and greatest is that we need testers beta
testers for iOS and Android applications in the Melbourne area
region because there have been a few delays, but we're
near the end in terms of good news, it should
be coming very, very soon. But if you are somebody
who is frustrated by buses leaving you behind because you
(13:11):
can't see them to hail them, or if you're frustrated
because you don't know when to press the bell to
be able to get off, because you can't look at
a map just like myself. Or if you have issues
knowing whether the bus in front of you or the
one behind it, or the one behind it at a
multi-stop platform is the one you want. Let us know.
Go to Halo. Or, you know, reach out through to
(13:33):
the podcast and let us know that you want to
be a tester. We would love your feedback, and the
idea is to basically make public transport a little bit
more accessible. And for those of you who don't know
what Halo is, as somebody who is blind, I was
just frustrated that, as I said, buses kept leaving me behind.
Trams had their own issues. Trains had their own issues.
So I said, if we can electronically hail a bus,
(13:57):
a train, a tram from our phones, and the driver
gets an alert on their console as they approach you,
hailing them and or pressing the bell at the appropriate
time will become or well, actually has become a thing
of the past, making public transport more accessible and not
having any issues with either, you know, being refused service
because you have a dog guide or being left behind, uh,
(14:20):
on the curve because the bus didn't see you. So
if anybody lives in the greater Melbourne region, and if
you want to be a tester, let us know. But also,
even if you don't, uh, let us know that you
want Halo in your region, the more support we have,
the more advocacy we have from the community for better
public transport, the better we can make this country. And
just remember, you know, think about the amazing things that
(14:42):
you can do when you have freedom. Uh, so if
more things are open to you because of the public
transport that already exist, just imagine what you could do.
S2 (14:51):
Yeah, that's a perfect note to end on. And if,
as Santhi said, you head along to Halo Dot, you
can find out a lot more about Halo and how
the app can help you or somebody you know who
might just need that extra help with getting around on
(15:13):
the local public transport network. So that's. Halo. C0 to
find out more. Or if you'd love to hear more
from Sante from his other side of things as ambassador
for International Day of People with disability, you can of
course head to IDP. To hear his story and those
(15:37):
of all the other ambassadors for this year's International Day
of People with disabilities. Or maybe just find out a
bit more about the day more broadly. Well, Sante, thank
you very much for your time today. Always great to
have you on talking vision and happy International Day of
people with disability.
S3 (16:00):
Thank you, Sam, for having me. Happy international Day for
people with disability. To everybody who is listening.
S2 (16:11):
I'm Sam Kelly and you're listening to Talking Vision on
Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading Network
and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that
conversation there with Santiago. If you missed any part of
that chat with Santi or you'd love to hear it again.
(16:33):
Talking vision is available on the podcast app of your
choice or through the Vision Australia library. You can also
find the program on the Vision Australia Radio website. Simply
head to Radio.com. That's V radio. All one word dot
(16:55):
as we roll into December may be the last FYI
chat for 2025, but things are by no means slowing down.
We're celebrating International Day of People with disabilities today, as
well as a lot of other things which you can
look forward to in the latest edition of For Your
(17:18):
Information and to have a chat all about it. I'm
very pleased to welcome back editor of FII, Liz Dalakas. Liz,
welcome back to Talking Vision. Great to have you as always.
S4 (17:31):
As always. It's great to be back, Sam.
S2 (17:33):
Now today we are celebrating a very important day. It's
International Day for people with disabilities, and that's featured quite
prominently in this edition of FYI, as I understand it.
S4 (17:48):
Yeah, you're right Sam, because it is such an important day.
So today, December the 3rd, it marks the International Day
of People with disability, and it's promoting awareness and inclusion
for the 5.5 million Australians who live with a disability.
So it's supported by governments, organisations, schools and communities. Today
highlights Australia's commitment to the UN convention on the Rights
(18:10):
of People with disability, and aligns with Australia's Disability strategy
to build a more inclusive society for all Australians.
S2 (18:17):
And there's a really exciting podcast that's now available for
people to check out. It's a new edition of Mindful Minutes.
It's taken a bit of a different format, so tell
us a little bit about that one.
S4 (18:35):
It has. So roughly a year ago we launched a
podcast called Mindful Minutes where it helps to support you
in your wellbeing in different aspects and parts of your life.
And as a new branch of the Mindful Minutes, we
have come up with Mindful Minutes Journal. So that is
basically a wellbeing journal that's here to help you pause,
(18:55):
reflect and take small, meaningful steps every day to support
you in your wellbeing. So what's cool about this new
project is we have a written version of the document,
and we also have an audio version of the journal.
So whether you want to write, you want to type,
speak or use your tech, this journal is your space
to check in. Notice what helps and take care of yourself.
(19:19):
One mindful minute at a time.
S2 (19:21):
Perfect. And another really exciting program. It's the drive with
Heart initiative. Tell us a bit about that one.
S4 (19:31):
Yeah, it's really exciting, Sam. So we know that if
you have a dog guide yourself, they can be a
big part of your blind or low vision experience. But
a lot of people don't realize that there are laws
that protect your right to travel safely and fairly with them.
Taxi and rideshare vehicles. They can't refuse you service or
(19:51):
charge you extra because you have an assistance animal. And
that's where the drive with heart program is stepping in,
giving you all the right information for you to contact,
the right people to try and resolve any issues that
you come across.
S2 (20:04):
And Liz, of course, we've got some new stand up
for your rights resources. This is quite a popular little
segment for people out there to access some really important
info for them to understand and get on top of
what they have the right to advocate for and their
(20:26):
rights as a person with disability.
S4 (20:28):
Yeah, you're absolutely right, Sam. It's one of our more
popular inclusions in the newsletter as well, because it's important
to know how to stand up for your rights. And
in this particular edition, we've focused on children and their education.
So there will be three in this edition of FYI
where we will focus on primary and secondary skills, the
reasonable adjustments and laws you find in education and tertiary
(20:52):
education skills. So sometimes our kids may not know where
to start themselves, and all we can do is try
and help show them the way. These guides are here
to do exactly that.
S2 (21:03):
Perfect. Now, Liz, there's also some new translated resources, quite
a few new resources in different languages for people to access.
S4 (21:14):
A lot of people don't realize, Sam, that we have
a section on our website that offers translated resources. So
if you have a grandma whose first language is not
English and you think, oh, maybe she'd like to read this,
but it's not in Greek, we have it there in Greek.
So if you visit our website on the brochure page
and scroll down to the bottom for the alternative languages,
we've got 15 languages there. And you may just find
(21:37):
exactly what you need for that person in your life
who doesn't speak English.
S2 (21:41):
And Liz, as we're coming up to Christmas, we're going
on a bit of a a well-earned break. You could say.
But we will be back in the new year. So
let our listeners know what's the first edition of FYI
that will be coming out in the new year for
people out there?
S4 (22:00):
Yeah, we will be back in January towards the end
of the month to accommodate for people going on leave.
And we'll be back in your inbox with all the
latest news, information and events just like we always are.
So back to business at the end of January.
S2 (22:15):
Well, have a wonderful holiday break, Liz and everyone out there. Liz,
thank you so much for your time today and great
to have a chat with you and have a chat
over the year about all the great stuff in FYI
over 2025.
S4 (22:32):
Yeah, thank you Sam. It's always so much fun coming
on the show. It's been a great year and I
can't wait to be back in 2026.
S2 (22:45):
And now here's Frances Callan with a reader recommended.
S5 (22:49):
Hi Sam, great to be back with some wonderful reader
recommended titles. This book in the Vision Australia Library is
called Hello Darkness, my Old Friend, and it's by Sanford Greenberg.
This is the remarkable and inspiring story of a Columbia
undergrad from a poor Jewish family who, after losing his
(23:09):
eyesight to disease during his junior year, finds the power
to break through the darkness and fulfill his vision for
a life of great professional success and distinguished public service.
It's a bitterly cold February in 1961, and Sandy Greenberg
lies in a hospital bed in Detroit, newly blind, a
junior at Columbia University from a Jewish family that struggled
(23:32):
to stay above the poverty line. Sandy has just started
to see the world open up to him. Now, instead
of his plans for a bright future Harvard Law and politics,
Sandy faces a new reality one defined by a cane
or a companion dog, menial work and a cautious path
through life. But that's not how this story ends. Let's
(23:54):
hear a sample of Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend by
Sanford Greenberg. Interestingly, it is narrated by the wonderful Art Garfunkel,
who was one of Sanford's best friends growing up.
S6 (24:07):
At the end of October, in my senior year, I
decided I had to do something about the everyday living
side of my dilemma. I spoke with my doctor, who
immediately arranged an appointment for me at what I will
call the Institute for Blind Persons. Two days later, Arthur
and I worked our way there through Midtown Manhattan crowds.
(24:32):
I was introduced to a miss Borlak, not her real name,
who was to work on my case. She had a
high pitched voice, and her perfume seemed vaguely reminiscent of
dry grass. Arthur told me later that she was probably
in her early 30s, wearing glasses and purple lipstick as
(24:54):
she led me to her office, leaving Arthur in the
waiting room. I noticed that her hands were soft after
the routine biographical information had been taken. She wanted to
know whether I had any particular problem. I mentioned that
things were not proceeding perfectly, but I hoped they would
shortly arrange themselves. Cells after more of what I assumed
(25:18):
were the standard preliminaries. Miss Baulac suddenly sprang an abrupt
change of pace on me. Quote. How do you like
being blind? I was taken aback. The question was blunt,
if not crude. However, since I was asking her for help,
I felt compelled to answer. To be frank, I don't
(25:41):
like it. The fact is, I dislike it very, very much.
The past couple of weeks especially have been extremely disturbing,
and I really don't know that I am going to
be able to graduate this year.
S5 (25:53):
So that was Hello darkness, my Old Friend by Sanford Greenberg,
beautifully narrated there by Art Garfunkel. If you would like
to join the library, you're welcome to call 130654656. That's 1300Â 654Â 656.
Or you can email library at That's library at vision.
S2 (26:19):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking 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 Vision at Australia. That's talking vision all. One word
(26:44):
at Vision Australia. But until next week it's Sam Coley
saying bye for now.
S1 (26:53):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 74 six. That's one 384
74 six 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 (00:31):
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 (00:39):
If we have exposure at the local level, at the
federal level, if we have exposure in multiple facets of society,
then people will be more accustomed to seeing us. So
when we go for employment, for education, it'll just be normal.
It'll just be yep. He has a vision impairment. That's fine.
He can be a barista. He can study engineering, he
(01:01):
can do whatever. So the objective is just showing the
world that, yes, we're different, but at the same time
we're the same.
S2 (01:09):
Welcome to the program. This week we feature a favorite
of ours on talking vision. It's Santiago Velazquez. He's back
to have a chat with me about his role as
ambassador for International Day of People with disabilities. Well, he's
one of six ambassadors, very excited to catch up with
(01:31):
him to chat all about that. So you'll hear from
him very shortly. Make sure to stick around for that one.
And then after that you'll hear from Luis, the editor
of FYI. Another favorite. She's back with the final edition
of FYI for this year, and then we wrap up
(01:52):
with a reader recommended. I hope you'll enjoy this week's
episode of Talking Vision. You may know our next guest
from his work with Eyesight or Halo, as well as
his role as a UN Youth Ambassador for persons with disabilities.
(02:16):
But today we're here to chat to him about his
latest role as ambassador for International Day of People with disabilities,
which we're celebrating today on the 3rd of December. It's
Santiago Velazquez Hurtado, and it's my great pleasure to welcome
(02:36):
him right now. Santi, welcome back to Talking Vision. Thank
you very much for your time.
S3 (02:43):
Sam, as always, it's a pleasure to be with you
and especially this week that on the 3rd of December
is International Day for people with disability. What a year
it has been.
S2 (02:53):
Absolutely. Yeah, very special week. And, um, a great way to,
as you've said, celebrate as we head to the end
of the year. Now, let's just get a bit of
an overview for people out there about the day itself.
S3 (03:10):
International Day of People with disability is a United Nations
celebration if you will, slash Awareness Day. And obviously it
has become not just a United Nations thing, if you will,
but it's a day where we can celebrate the diversity
that makes this world what it is. With the objective
(03:33):
of not just saying, hey, yep, cool people with disabilities exist,
but with a longer term plan of making sure that
we all understand diversity. We understand that, you know, there
are tall people in this world. There are people who
are blonde. There are people who are blind. There are
people who use wheelchairs and so on and so on
and so forth. And that's the 3rd of December. So
(03:57):
on the 3rd of December this year and every year
we celebrate International Day for people with disability. And the
week before, actually it was International Week for people with disability.
So it's interesting that they happen in two sort of
different time frames, but I guess one builds up to
the day. But it's very exciting.
S2 (04:18):
It's very exciting. And another very exciting thing that you're
involved with is you're one of the ambassadors this year.
That's pretty cool. It's the first time, as I understand it,
you've been an ambassador. So tell us what that involves
and how you got involved there.
S3 (04:38):
It's a bit of an interesting story, because I got
an email this August from the federal government Department of
Social as well as ageing DSA, and they asked me
if I wanted to be an ambassador, and I thought
for a second that it was a scam. Fortunately it wasn't.
I did my due diligence, but you know, when you
(04:58):
get those emails that sound too good to be true.
S2 (05:00):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, but there you go.
S3 (05:04):
To cut the story short as to what it is,
it's this year the government is or has selected rather
six ambassadors with the intent of showing what people with
disabilities can do, how diverse we are, and what representation
(05:26):
across the world and across Australia is able to do
for the broader society. So there are six ambassadors. I
have a vision impairment, so I'm representing sort of that community,
which is an honor. And there are people who are
of short stature, somebody who uses a wheelchair. Hidden disabilities, amputee.
(05:47):
And we're all in different industries. But the main goal
is the Australian government wants to put its hat in
the ring of we live in a global society. We
are all different. But those differences don't change what we
can and cannot do. And with the longer term objective
(06:07):
of if we have exposure at the local level, at
the federal level, If we have exposure, you know, in
multiple facets of society, then people will be more accustomed
to seeing us. So when we go for employment, for education,
(06:29):
it'll just be normal. It'll just be yep. He has
a vision impairment. That's fine. He can be a barista.
He can study engineering, he can do whatever. So the
objective is just showing the world that, yes, we're different,
but at the same time we're the same.
S2 (06:44):
Absolutely. And, um, you know, this might be a bit
tricky to pin down to one sort of major thing, subtlety.
But what does it mean to you to be an
ambassador and have the opportunity to have your say and
spread the messages you have always championed in quite a
(07:08):
few different aspects of society and now as an ambassador
for International Day of People with Disability in Australia. What's
that mean for you and what do you really want
people to take away when they are involved with this
day and all the events that are going on around it?
S3 (07:31):
It's a very interesting question and I have two different answers.
In the first one is it's an honour, right? It's
an absolute honour to be recognised for this position. Right.
And I'll do my best and put my best foot
forward to make sure that whether you have or don't
have a disability, you are recognised equally. Right. And you
(07:55):
have access to the same opportunities as everybody else. In
the other hand, and this is where my conflict, I guess, starts,
because the reason why this exists is because or what
I mean by this, I mean the reason why the
ambassadorship exists and why International Day for people with disabilities
exist is because of the lack of representation that we
(08:19):
have for people who have disabilities, is because of all
the inequalities that exist. It's because of all the systems, processes, services, products,
you know, and you keep going that are not accessible,
are not inclusive. So amazing in one hand, frustrating in
the other hand, because it shouldn't be this way. Uh, although,
as we all know, progress takes time. It takes effort.
(08:42):
So from my point of view, hoping that this isn't
just an ambassadorship position where I, you know, do a
few photo ops and stuff, I'm, I'm keen to do more. Right.
I'm keen to work with the other ambassadors, work with
the Australian government to champion a project, to do something that,
whether it's small or big, it will actually have an
(09:05):
impact because at the end of the day, we can
talk all we want, but if we don't put it
into action, we won't have results. So if you are
listening and if you have something that you're passionate about,
if you have something that you think the government should know,
if you have something that they should work on, reach
out to your local member. Reach out to those who
(09:28):
might be able to help. Don't be shy in terms
of saying or asking for things, because at the end
of the day, if we don't ask, nobody's going to
come knocking on our door and say, hey, would you
like this?
S2 (09:38):
Mhm. Yeah for sure. And that's some where it's all
about fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress, which
of course is the theme of this year's International Day
of People with disability. And they're not just words on
a website. They are very important mission statements and things
(10:03):
like that, that these sort of days are really looking
to champion. And what are you hoping to see come
from that message and that theme for society more broadly.
You've gone into this to some extent already, but what
do those particular words mean from your standpoint?
S3 (10:24):
I think for me to keep it short and simple
and sweet, if you will, the idea that if a
child is born with a disability or if somebody acquires
a disability later on in life, the words basically, my
long term aspiration for our world is for somebody who
(10:44):
has a disability to be able to pick what they
want to study and to be able to have the
support from the school, from their family, from their friends,
from their peers to do so without any hesitation. The
ability for somebody who is going to high school to
also work at a McDonald's or as a barista, just
like their regular sighted peers or their regular non-disabled peers,
(11:08):
because that's something that we don't have in the disability community.
I don't know many people in the disability community who
had a part time job while in high school, who
had a part time job while in uni, so they
could also have the same experiences as those who did. Right.
And longer term. Right. You know, having the ability to
have people who have disabilities just be completely integrated into
(11:32):
our world. Right. Um, a good example I like to
give is a hundred years ago, if you would have
said women should be allowed to vote, should be allowed
to do PhDs, should be allowed to do many, many things.
The answer would have been no. Are you nuts? And
now that's common, right? More work still needs to be done.
And I'm not a woman, so I won't pretend to
(11:52):
speak about that particular topic. But progress has been made,
and that's what we need to do for the disability
community to make more progress so that small things, such
as going out and about and having accessible navigation all
the way through to studying complex things at university, or
applying for a job or buying a house, all of
(12:13):
those things are very easy to do because the world
is just it's just accessible and it just works for everybody.
S2 (12:20):
Mhm. But there are some things that still need more
work to be done around them. And one of those
things is of course public transport, a topic very close
to your heart and something very closely involved with your
passion project, your work, more importantly with Halo. So give
(12:41):
us a bit of a Halo update. What's the latest
from that side of things that you can let our
listeners know about?
S3 (12:49):
The latest and greatest is that we need testers beta
testers for iOS and Android applications in the Melbourne area
region because there have been a few delays, but we're
near the end in terms of good news, it should
be coming very, very soon. But if you are somebody
who is frustrated by buses leaving you behind because you
(13:11):
can't see them to hail them, or if you're frustrated
because you don't know when to press the bell to
be able to get off, because you can't look at
a map just like myself. Or if you have issues
knowing whether the bus in front of you or the
one behind it, or the one behind it at a
multi-stop platform is the one you want. Let us know.
Go to Halo. Or, you know, reach out through to
(13:33):
the podcast and let us know that you want to
be a tester. We would love your feedback, and the
idea is to basically make public transport a little bit
more accessible. And for those of you who don't know
what Halo is, as somebody who is blind, I was
just frustrated that, as I said, buses kept leaving me behind.
Trams had their own issues. Trains had their own issues.
So I said, if we can electronically hail a bus,
(13:57):
a train, a tram from our phones, and the driver
gets an alert on their console as they approach you,
hailing them and or pressing the bell at the appropriate
time will become or well, actually has become a thing
of the past, making public transport more accessible and not
having any issues with either, you know, being refused service
because you have a dog guide or being left behind, uh,
(14:20):
on the curve because the bus didn't see you. So
if anybody lives in the greater Melbourne region, and if
you want to be a tester, let us know. But also,
even if you don't, uh, let us know that you
want Halo in your region, the more support we have,
the more advocacy we have from the community for better
public transport, the better we can make this country. And
just remember, you know, think about the amazing things that
(14:42):
you can do when you have freedom. Uh, so if
more things are open to you because of the public
transport that already exist, just imagine what you could do.
S2 (14:51):
Yeah, that's a perfect note to end on. And if,
as Santhi said, you head along to Halo Dot, you
can find out a lot more about Halo and how
the app can help you or somebody you know who
might just need that extra help with getting around on
(15:13):
the local public transport network. So that's. Halo. C0 to
find out more. Or if you'd love to hear more
from Sante from his other side of things as ambassador
for International Day of People with disability, you can of
course head to IDP. To hear his story and those
(15:37):
of all the other ambassadors for this year's International Day
of People with disabilities. Or maybe just find out a
bit more about the day more broadly. Well, Sante, thank
you very much for your time today. Always great to
have you on talking vision and happy International Day of
people with disability.
S3 (16:00):
Thank you, Sam, for having me. Happy international Day for
people with disability. To everybody who is listening.
S2 (16:11):
I'm Sam Kelly and you're listening to Talking Vision on
Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading Network
and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that
conversation there with Santiago. If you missed any part of
that chat with Santi or you'd love to hear it again.
(16:33):
Talking vision is available on the podcast app of your
choice or through the Vision Australia library. You can also
find the program on the Vision Australia Radio website. Simply
head to Radio.com. That's V radio. All one word dot
(16:55):
as we roll into December may be the last FYI
chat for 2025, but things are by no means slowing down.
We're celebrating International Day of People with disabilities today, as
well as a lot of other things which you can
look forward to in the latest edition of For Your
(17:18):
Information and to have a chat all about it. I'm
very pleased to welcome back editor of FII, Liz Dalakas. Liz,
welcome back to Talking Vision. Great to have you as always.
S4 (17:31):
As always. It's great to be back, Sam.
S2 (17:33):
Now today we are celebrating a very important day. It's
International Day for people with disabilities, and that's featured quite
prominently in this edition of FYI, as I understand it.
S4 (17:48):
Yeah, you're right Sam, because it is such an important day.
So today, December the 3rd, it marks the International Day
of People with disability, and it's promoting awareness and inclusion
for the 5.5 million Australians who live with a disability.
So it's supported by governments, organisations, schools and communities. Today
highlights Australia's commitment to the UN convention on the Rights
(18:10):
of People with disability, and aligns with Australia's Disability strategy
to build a more inclusive society for all Australians.
S2 (18:17):
And there's a really exciting podcast that's now available for
people to check out. It's a new edition of Mindful Minutes.
It's taken a bit of a different format, so tell
us a little bit about that one.
S4 (18:35):
It has. So roughly a year ago we launched a
podcast called Mindful Minutes where it helps to support you
in your wellbeing in different aspects and parts of your life.
And as a new branch of the Mindful Minutes, we
have come up with Mindful Minutes Journal. So that is
basically a wellbeing journal that's here to help you pause,
(18:55):
reflect and take small, meaningful steps every day to support
you in your wellbeing. So what's cool about this new
project is we have a written version of the document,
and we also have an audio version of the journal.
So whether you want to write, you want to type,
speak or use your tech, this journal is your space
to check in. Notice what helps and take care of yourself.
(19:19):
One mindful minute at a time.
S2 (19:21):
Perfect. And another really exciting program. It's the drive with
Heart initiative. Tell us a bit about that one.
S4 (19:31):
Yeah, it's really exciting, Sam. So we know that if
you have a dog guide yourself, they can be a
big part of your blind or low vision experience. But
a lot of people don't realize that there are laws
that protect your right to travel safely and fairly with them.
Taxi and rideshare vehicles. They can't refuse you service or
(19:51):
charge you extra because you have an assistance animal. And
that's where the drive with heart program is stepping in,
giving you all the right information for you to contact,
the right people to try and resolve any issues that
you come across.
S2 (20:04):
And Liz, of course, we've got some new stand up
for your rights resources. This is quite a popular little
segment for people out there to access some really important
info for them to understand and get on top of
what they have the right to advocate for and their
(20:26):
rights as a person with disability.
S4 (20:28):
Yeah, you're absolutely right, Sam. It's one of our more
popular inclusions in the newsletter as well, because it's important
to know how to stand up for your rights. And
in this particular edition, we've focused on children and their education.
So there will be three in this edition of FYI
where we will focus on primary and secondary skills, the
reasonable adjustments and laws you find in education and tertiary
(20:52):
education skills. So sometimes our kids may not know where
to start themselves, and all we can do is try
and help show them the way. These guides are here
to do exactly that.
S2 (21:03):
Perfect. Now, Liz, there's also some new translated resources, quite
a few new resources in different languages for people to access.
S4 (21:14):
A lot of people don't realize, Sam, that we have
a section on our website that offers translated resources. So
if you have a grandma whose first language is not
English and you think, oh, maybe she'd like to read this,
but it's not in Greek, we have it there in Greek.
So if you visit our website on the brochure page
and scroll down to the bottom for the alternative languages,
we've got 15 languages there. And you may just find
(21:37):
exactly what you need for that person in your life
who doesn't speak English.
S2 (21:41):
And Liz, as we're coming up to Christmas, we're going
on a bit of a a well-earned break. You could say.
But we will be back in the new year. So
let our listeners know what's the first edition of FYI
that will be coming out in the new year for
people out there?
S4 (22:00):
Yeah, we will be back in January towards the end
of the month to accommodate for people going on leave.
And we'll be back in your inbox with all the
latest news, information and events just like we always are.
So back to business at the end of January.
S2 (22:15):
Well, have a wonderful holiday break, Liz and everyone out there. Liz,
thank you so much for your time today and great
to have a chat with you and have a chat
over the year about all the great stuff in FYI
over 2025.
S4 (22:32):
Yeah, thank you Sam. It's always so much fun coming
on the show. It's been a great year and I
can't wait to be back in 2026.
S2 (22:45):
And now here's Frances Callan with a reader recommended.
S5 (22:49):
Hi Sam, great to be back with some wonderful reader
recommended titles. This book in the Vision Australia Library is
called Hello Darkness, my Old Friend, and it's by Sanford Greenberg.
This is the remarkable and inspiring story of a Columbia
undergrad from a poor Jewish family who, after losing his
(23:09):
eyesight to disease during his junior year, finds the power
to break through the darkness and fulfill his vision for
a life of great professional success and distinguished public service.
It's a bitterly cold February in 1961, and Sandy Greenberg
lies in a hospital bed in Detroit, newly blind, a
junior at Columbia University from a Jewish family that struggled
(23:32):
to stay above the poverty line. Sandy has just started
to see the world open up to him. Now, instead
of his plans for a bright future Harvard Law and politics,
Sandy faces a new reality one defined by a cane
or a companion dog, menial work and a cautious path
through life. But that's not how this story ends. Let's
(23:54):
hear a sample of Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend by
Sanford Greenberg. Interestingly, it is narrated by the wonderful Art Garfunkel,
who was one of Sanford's best friends growing up.
S6 (24:07):
At the end of October, in my senior year, I
decided I had to do something about the everyday living
side of my dilemma. I spoke with my doctor, who
immediately arranged an appointment for me at what I will
call the Institute for Blind Persons. Two days later, Arthur
and I worked our way there through Midtown Manhattan crowds.
(24:32):
I was introduced to a miss Borlak, not her real name,
who was to work on my case. She had a
high pitched voice, and her perfume seemed vaguely reminiscent of
dry grass. Arthur told me later that she was probably
in her early 30s, wearing glasses and purple lipstick as
(24:54):
she led me to her office, leaving Arthur in the
waiting room. I noticed that her hands were soft after
the routine biographical information had been taken. She wanted to
know whether I had any particular problem. I mentioned that
things were not proceeding perfectly, but I hoped they would
shortly arrange themselves. Cells after more of what I assumed
(25:18):
were the standard preliminaries. Miss Baulac suddenly sprang an abrupt
change of pace on me. Quote. How do you like
being blind? I was taken aback. The question was blunt,
if not crude. However, since I was asking her for help,
I felt compelled to answer. To be frank, I don't
(25:41):
like it. The fact is, I dislike it very, very much.
The past couple of weeks especially have been extremely disturbing,
and I really don't know that I am going to
be able to graduate this year.
S5 (25:53):
So that was Hello darkness, my Old Friend by Sanford Greenberg,
beautifully narrated there by Art Garfunkel. If you would like
to join the library, you're welcome to call 130654656. That's 1300Â 654Â 656.
Or you can email library at That's library at vision.
S2 (26:19):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking 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 Vision at Australia. That's talking vision all. One word
(26:44):
at Vision Australia. But until next week it's Sam Coley
saying bye for now.
S1 (26:53):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 74 six. That's one 384
74 six or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
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