S1: Hello everyone. It's great to be with you for this
S1: first edition of Talking Vision. We've got a lot to
S1: talk about, so do stick around.
S2: Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half an hour, we talk matters of
S2: blindness and low vision.
S3: Hello and welcome to this special 700th episode of Talking Vision.
S3: It's been a real honor to be able to join
S3: you for the past two and a half years, and
S3: to follow on the legacy that Steven and Stella have
S3: built up since the very first episode in 2011, and
S3: it's my great pleasure to look back over the past
S3: 12 years today with some favorite interviews from Steve and
S3: Stella and myself as we kick off the celebrations for
S3: this week's 700th episode. So, without further ado, I hope
S3: you'll enjoy this special episode of Talking Vision. We kick
S3: off proceedings today by taking a trip all the way
S3: back to August 2011, where Stephen Jolly has a chat
S3: with the organiser of a Vision Australia event whereby a
S3: group of children who are blind or have low vision
S3: had the opportunity to chat with an astronaut from the
S3: International Space Station. And Steven also has a chat with
S3: one of the children who got a chance to ask
S3: a question. So here's Stephen Jolly with Paul and Jessica.
S4: Anyone? Anyone else? This is 6 p.m. Honolulu. Do you copy? Over.
UU: Anyone at that company? Loud and clear. Over.
S4: Once we've got you loud and clear. Go ahead. Australia.
S4: My name is Mia, and I question is, what do
S4: you do on a normal day in the space station
S4: over me?
UU: And my name is Mike. We do a lot of
UU: the same things on space station. You do? We wake
UU: up in the morning, get some breakfast, kind of read
UU: some of our information. We actually check emails and then
UU: get started. We do a combination of just living and
UU: work and maintaining the space station, cleaning filters and things
UU: like that. And and science experiments have different sorts. That's
UU: kind of a different every day over.
S1: Now, if you're looking for the instigator of this fantastic project,
S1: probably the person that everyone's looking at is Paul Paradigm.
S1: Paul is an adaptive technology consultant with Vision Australia. You
S1: look after the west region of Sydney, don't you, Paul?
S5: That's right Stephen.
S1: And one of your life interests is amateur radio.
S5: It is. And that started from when I was a child,
S5: from twiddling the knobs on my Am radio and noticing
S5: that I could hear distant stations coming through the ether,
S5: as it were.
S1: It's exciting now, isn't it? With the internet and all
S1: sorts of communication that one can can tune into.
S5: It certainly is. And of course, I'm with the hobby
S5: of amateur radio. Often people comment that a that's a
S5: bit old fashioned, you know, we don't really need the
S5: radio anymore. And that's far from the truth, because, you know,
S5: the internet and mobile phones, particularly in times of trouble,
S5: do fail. And quite often we have to fall back
S5: on the old fashioned systems. It's like using your computer
S5: and finding, hey, it's not worked, it's not booting and
S5: having to revert back to your pen and paper or
S5: your Perkins Brailler.
S1: So how did this link up with the International Space
S1: Station all come about? What's that got to do with
S1: them in a radio?
S5: In my hobby, I hold a position for an organisation
S5: called AMSA, which basically stands for Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation.
S5: That acronym is not quite right. The position I hold
S5: is of the National Coordinator for Australia, and I've been
S5: involved with the project called Eris, which is amateur radio
S5: on board the International Space Station, which was a project
S5: set up to encourage children and young adults to have
S5: an interest in science, mathematics and technology through a colleague
S5: in South Australia. His name, by the way, is Tony Hutchinson,
S5: who coordinates this project in Australia and the Pacific region.
S5: An opportunity arose to make a contact with the International
S5: Space Station, and I was approached and I thought that
S5: Vision Australia children could get great benefit from this contact
S5: with the astronauts.
S1: When it was all over. What was your reflection on
S1: it all, Paul?
S5: Gee, we were all pretty much elated by the contact.
S5: It went pretty smoothly. The reaction from from the children,
S5: it was just it was really over the top. Exciting.
S5: It actually went off pretty much without a hitch. Everybody
S5: was receptive. Everybody really loved the lectures, and it was
S5: a really good feeling to know that these vision impaired
S5: and blind kids could, you know, do it as well
S5: as others that we've handled in the past with such
S5: contacts with space.
S1: You amateur radio people do a lot of exciting things
S1: over a lifetime of involvement with radio. Where does this
S1: one stand?
S5: It stands right at the top. For me, it's pretty
S5: close to the top, if not the most exciting thing
S5: that I've done in amateur amateur radio. I guess look,
S5: the first time I spoke with an astronaut on board
S5: the ISS might compete with it. But to put 12
S5: kids in touch with them and have them ask quite
S5: interesting questions and getting a response, it's, you know, it's
S5: a once in a lifetime thing, really.
S1: Michael Paul Paradigm, he's an adaptive technology consultant with Vision
S1: in Australia. And through his amateur radio links, he was
S1: able to, along with a whole lot of other people,
S1: link children who are blind and who have low vision
S1: with astronauts on the International Space Station. Fantastic. Thanks, Paul.
S1: Thank you. Now, one of the people who attended that
S1: amazing event at Virgin Australia Enfield on August 29th is
S1: Jessica McKinnon. Jessica's on the line now. Welcome to Talking Vision, Jessica.
S6: Thank you.
S1: Have you had much of an interest in science up
S1: until now?
S6: Not really.
S1: Not really. I guess that changed a bit with this.
S1: This opportunity to speak with someone on the space station?
S6: Yes, it definitely did.
S4: My name is Jessica, and my question is, what can
S4: you say when you look at the window? Can you
S4: see any planets over.
S7: The Jessica looking out of the window? We see the
S7: Earth below. We're about 240 miles or 400km in space.
S7: And so we have a good view of the world.
S7: And I will tell you that Australia is one of
S7: my favorite places to look at, because the land is
S7: so different. The amazing colors and textures and, and there's
S7: a surprising number of meteor craters that are visible on
S7: on in Australia. You can I also at night like
S7: to look down. You see the city lights sparkling. Really.
S7: You see where people are with the lights on and
S7: and I love you. Ask about the planet. I love
S7: looking at the stars and watching them move. And the
S7: easy ones are Venus and Mars and Jupiter are very
S7: easy to see. The others are Saturn's not. Not as
S7: easy for me to pick out over.
S1: And how was that moment when you spoke to Mike
S1: Fossum in the space station?
S6: It was absolutely brilliant.
S1: It was a good question. You asked. Oh.
S6: Really?
S1: Yes, it was, and it was an interesting answer he gave,
S1: wasn't it, the way he talked about Australia?
S6: It definitely was. I didn't think you'd actually be able
S6: to see Australia from the space station.
S1: That is interesting because it's hard for us to sometimes
S1: realise what could be seen from a distance out there,
S1: but the earth being, well, 250 miles away is a
S1: fair way, but they seem to be able to see
S1: a fair bit of it, which I found very interesting.
S6: It is quite interesting.
S1: Yeah. Do you listen to the radio at all?
S6: I'm a little, not much man.
S1: What stations do you listen to?
S6: Anything, really.
S1: There's so much choice. All the different music stations these days,
S1: isn't there?
S6: Yes, there really is. So it doesn't really matter which
S6: one you're listening to. You'll normally get something decent.
S1: Well, Jessica, it's been great talking to you. And congratulations
S1: on being in that situation where you're talking to those
S1: people in space. It's something that very few people get
S1: to do. So I hope you enjoyed the moment and
S1: it will be a very treasured memory for you for
S1: the rest of your life.
S6: It will be.
S1: Jessica McKinnon from Carlingford in Sydney, one of the people
S1: who spoke to the International Space Station just a few
S1: weeks ago.
S3: Our second interview today sees us. Fast forward about eight
S3: years to 2019 with one of our most popular topics ever,
S3: the Bryan Music Camp, presented by Stellar Glory as she
S3: caught up with long time Brown Music Camp attendee and
S3: now staff member Mikayla Schmidt.
S2: I've got a change of scenery. This time around. I
S2: am joined by Braille Music Camp participant and now staff
S2: member junior staff member, Mikayla Schmidt. Thank you so much
S2: for your time today, Mikaela. Thanks for having.
S8: Me, Stella. It's great to be here.
S2: Now. Before people complain about where Jordy is, she is in.
S2: She's fully knowledgeable that you are.
S8: Jordy knows that I am here. She invited me. No,
S8: I am being Jordy now.
S2: So before we talk about you, I just want to
S2: have a quick chat about putting on the Ritz because
S2: it's one of my all time favorite songs. And I'm
S2: so excited that the camp choir did this. What did
S2: the kids think of doing this?
S8: I think the kids thought that this song was great fun.
S8: We also sang a couple of things from like, you know,
S8: for a requiem and lots of traditional sacred music. And
S8: so this was a nice, upbeat song for them to
S8: have fun with. But also, most of the kids haven't
S8: heard music like this before. It's old, sort of 1920s jazz,
S8: and that's experience for the kids and a style of
S8: music they haven't explored before, and so it's great to
S8: see them really enjoying it.
S2: Oh, it's really fantastic. Do you like it? I love
S2: it Irving Berlin yeah.
S8: We actually sung this on my second camp when I
S8: was 12. So to come back and do it, sing
S8: it again as a staff member and remember how I
S8: felt learning it as a kid is, you know, it's
S8: really interesting.
S2: So let's talk about you. You attended your first Braille
S2: music camp when you were 11.
S8: That's right.
S2: What sort of child were you?
S9: Oh.
S8: Very dramatic child.
S9: Oh, really?
S8: I love acting and telling stories. And so I think
S8: I had my victory to stream and was recording a
S8: lot of things at camp and, um.
S2: But Brown Music Camp uncut, maybe.
S8: Yes, yes. Um, tune in next week for the next episode.
S8: But yeah. And but I had never experienced classical music before.
S8: I'd never experienced singing or playing in an orchestra. And,
S8: you know, I'd heard these things sort of in movies
S8: or on the radio. But, you know, to me it
S8: was just mind blowing that I was actually there and
S8: I was a part of all this and that one
S8: day I could I could do this if I wanted. And,
S8: you know, after that, I went on to sing in
S8: choirs and become a classically trained singer. And I also
S8: lived in a regional area in Albury-Wodonga, so I didn't
S8: have as much access to Braille educators and being able
S8: to meet other blind adults and being taught by blind people.
S8: And so, you know, without the Braille music camp, I'm
S8: not sure that I would be where I am today
S8: and that I'd have had all the musical experiences I've had.
S2: I forgot to mention that you are actually a music
S2: and drama teacher, and you're a singer and you're a
S2: classical singer. That's right. And you love acting and performance
S2: and writing, and you also do some consultancy work with
S2: Arts Access Australia.
S9: And.
S8: Yeah, not actually associated with Arts Access Australia, but I
S8: do consultant making art spaces accessible.
S9: Yeah that's.
S2: Fantastic. And the beauty of the Braille music camp is
S2: that it's totally accessible, totally accessible.
S8: Most of the teachers and all of the students are blind.
S8: Everything is provided in Braille. In fact, it's a bit
S8: of a joke sometimes, because occasionally our few sighted stuff
S8: that we have singing in our main choir are the
S8: ones that don't have. We say, oh really? Sorry we
S8: didn't have a chance to get this music into print,
S8: which is, you know, normally when kids are at school
S8: or something, it's the other way around. And we, you know,
S8: they teachers will say, I'm so sorry, but we didn't
S8: get this work braille for you. And so for the
S8: kids to have everything there in front of them and
S8: be able to read all the music, you know, is
S8: just fantastic and it's not available anywhere else.
S2: And the one of the mottos or one of the
S2: sayings that Jordi learnt from Jordi is that the Brown
S2: music camp is the place where Braille is the norm
S2: and blindness the majority.
S8: That's right. Yeah, yeah.
S2: So is this your second year going to Brown Music
S2: Camp as a teacher?
S9: Yes, yes it is.
S2: I'm joined by Michaela Schmidt, who is now a junior teacher.
S2: She's been going to the camp since she was 11.
S9: That's right. Yeah.
S2: So what are the benefits for a singer? In singing
S2: in a choir. What are the greatest benefits about being
S2: in a choir?
S8: I think that you get to listen and, you know,
S8: sing with other people. I think it bro music camp.
S8: It's great because another thing that we did a lot
S8: in junior choir was they had to sing the song
S8: without accompaniment to learn to listen to each other and
S8: sort of count the beats in their head and keep
S8: in time, because sighted musicians can look at a conductor
S8: and see a conductor waving their arms around. And if
S8: you're a blind musician, you know, either seen with other
S8: blind musicians, but also if you're performing with sighted people,
S8: you can't do that. You have to be able to
S8: count and listen to the people around you. And so
S8: that's why we do a lot of choir singing at
S8: the Braille music camp.
S2: And are there conductors?
S8: There are, yes. Or blind choir directors this year out. Yeah.
S8: Our musical director, Ben Clarke, was over in New Zealand,
S8: but we had three of our other blind staff members,
S8: Rhea and Ryan Schmidt, and Nelson Rifat, lead the choir
S8: and they all sing professionally. They're professional choristers and studying
S8: music at tertiary level, so it's great for the kids
S8: to be able to work with other professional musicians who
S8: are also blind.
S2: Rhea is quite astounding, and she also credited the Braille
S2: music camp. She said that it was an overwhelming and
S2: marvelous experience and she'd never experienced anything like that. And
S2: she remembers, they sang a Benjamin Britten song and she
S2: was overwhelmed by it and said she probably knew every
S2: second word or something like that. So it's quite, quite
S2: a powerful place for many people.
S8: It is. And it's one of the only places where,
S8: you know, as you said before, blind is is the
S8: majority and all the students are Braille readers and they're
S8: all blind. And so they have that in common. And
S8: it really helps them to connect.
S9: And do you.
S2: Have to be a Braille reader to attend? If you
S2: were a young person listening to this program now, maybe
S2: you were seven years old and was singing or playing
S2: an instrument or had that desire. How do you get involved?
S8: Yeah, so you do have to. Most of our students
S8: are literary Braille readers, and a lot of them know
S8: grade two Braille, which is good because you can read the,
S8: you know, the words in our choir books. But occasionally
S8: we've had Braille readers who are still learning. It just
S8: depends and sort of what stage you're at and but yeah,
S8: if you if, you know, literary braille, that's very helpful
S8: because then you can just focus on the music code.
S3: I'm Sam Culley, and you're listening to this special 700th
S3: episode of Talking Vision on Vision Australia. Radio associated stations of.
S3: And the Community Radio Network. I hope you're enjoying this
S3: special episode. As we look back over the past 12
S3: years of talking vision with Steve and Stella and myself
S3: behind the mic. And now, finally this week, it's time
S3: for an interview that's close to my heart as I
S3: chat with Arkan. Yusuf Arkan was a teacher in Iraq
S3: for the best part of 20 years before losing his
S3: sight at the turn of this century and fleeing Iraq
S3: to come to Australia, setting up a new life for
S3: himself in western Sydney, where he's been involved in the
S3: local community for the best part of a decade and
S3: a half. I can welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you
S3: so much for your time today.
S10: Thank you.
S3: Now, what made you decide to move to Australia, and
S3: why did you think Australia would be the place to
S3: come to?
S11: I ran away from Iraq because I have a lot
S11: of problem in my job with the government in the
S11: time of Saddam regime that led me to fly and
S11: run away from Iraq in 2000, arrived in Greece about 2001,
S11: stay in that country about five years. 2006 in Monday morning,
S11: 4th of March 2006. Know maybe a lot of people.
S11: Maybe a surprise. When did I assist to come to Australia? Injuries.
S11: I find a lot of opportunity to go to a
S11: lot of country in Europe. I have a lot of
S11: relatives in America. My aunt in Canada. I have also
S11: relation people but assist. I don't know why. Maybe it's
S11: my destiny. A lot of reason whether language. I hear
S11: a lot about the people here and I really find
S11: that they are very kind, I always say about Australia
S11: is the give opportunity to all without recognize the background color,
S11: any discrimination. I give a hope to continue in this life.
S3: Being an immigrant who is totally blind must have been
S3: difficult for you when you did arrive in Australia.
S11: My last class in English I have in 1975. So
S11: imagine 1975 until 2006. I speak Arabic and Chaldean language.
S11: Christian language from Iraq. Yes. How much information I have,
S11: I will have in my brain during 31 years and
S11: no practice in that. When first arriving, I fill up
S11: what they are talking, whether I have basic English. I
S11: thought of myself enough. I haven't signed blank. I don't
S11: want it to be blind in community. I decided to
S11: learn this language.
S3: So you've been living in Western Sydney for the past
S3: 15 years. How did you become part of the community?
S3: What's the things that you really got excited about when
S3: you did arrive here?
S11: I was mentioned I live in a Smithfield suburb, belong
S11: to Fairfield. I try to work here in Fairfield. I
S11: connect a lot. A lot of people they give, they
S11: didn't give me that opportunity because I will tell this
S11: in general opinion, you are obliged to sit at the home.
S11: You cannot do it. How you will teach mathematics. You
S11: are blind. So I connect with Liverpool, a suburb near
S11: from me. They give me that opportunity first start in 2011,
S11: once a week teaching mathematic in Migrant Resource Center. This
S11: homework program help the students how to understand mathematics. There's
S11: different subject.
S10: But very.
S3: Different.
S11: Yeah, yeah there's there's English, there is history there. But
S11: my job was to teach mathematic also my Labor Day Liverpool.
S11: So here I feel myself. I am one who live
S11: in Liverpool because before attending uni nearly every week I
S11: am in Liverpool. I get from them a lot because
S11: here I use English language and also translate. All my
S11: information in mathematics from Arabic to English. So how much
S11: help get from them, I think, is less than the
S11: information I improve in myself about the English and mathematics.
S3: As a result of your dedication to community service Aachen,
S3: you were recently a finalist for Blind Australian of the year,
S3: so how did it feel to have that recognition?
S11: Since 2011 until 2020, before corona time. Every day I
S11: meet about 4 to 5 people speak with them about
S11: my journey. I speak with them about just a three
S11: word how to challenge, how to inspire, and how to
S11: be trust in yourself.
S3: You mentioned previously that you had completed two masters. I
S3: believe it was. And now you've recently started your PhD
S3: in mathematics at the University of Technology in Sydney. So
S3: that's a tremendous achievement. What made you decide to go
S3: back and do a PhD?
S11: Since I tried since 2012 to continue my education. Why?
S11: Because I find special in mathematics that people, they don't
S11: like it. I don't know why. Maybe a lot of reason.
S11: Or maybe there is a book, maybe teacher, maybe environment,
S11: maybe family. Maybe they are growing, maybe their education. For
S11: that reason, I decided to challenge that. Added to that,
S11: I try to find because 2 hour or 3 hour
S11: volunteer job during the week is not enough. I put
S11: a lot of form, a lot of application. There is
S11: a school for a blind and deaf student in Parramatta.
S11: Just when they hear I am totally blind or wait,
S11: I meet a lot of people to find another volunteer
S11: job you are applying. And for that reason I want
S11: to change the idea about that ability, especially about the
S11: blind people. They can do a lot of thing more
S11: than they expected, maybe. So a lot of people ask
S11: me why all this was a benefit, or when I
S11: walk in the street and a lot of people that
S11: wanted to give me help, they ask me what what
S11: you study can apply to him. Subject you don't like it?
S11: What a subject. You don't like it. 95% they answer
S11: me mathematic. So here I don't know why mathematics is
S11: a problem or a lot of people. So I always
S11: said that people don't teach mathematic. I teach how to
S11: understand the mathematics.
S3: I've been speaking today with Archon Yusuf, teacher, volunteer and
S3: contributor to the community in Western Sydney over the past
S3: 16 years and now just recently started your PhD as well.
S3: So all the best with that I can thank you
S3: so much for your time today. It's been an absolute
S3: pleasure to have you on the program.
S10: Thank you.
S11: Thank you, thank you for you and all the people
S11: they are listening.
S3: And that's all the time we have for today in
S3: this special 700th anniversary episode of Talking Vision. I hope
S3: you've enjoyed having a look back over the past 12
S3: years of the show, and here's to many more episodes
S3: to come. Talking vision is a production of Vision Australia Radio.
S3: Thanks to all involved with putting the show together and
S3: remember we love your feedback and comments, so please do
S3: get in touch on Talking Vision at Vision australia.org. That's
S3: talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until
S3: next week it's Sam Colley saying bye for now.
S2: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S2: business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 380 474
S2: W6 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision Australia call.