S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Colley.
S2: Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: We are a referral organization, so we don't provide the
S3: reading and writing support ourselves, but we help people to
S3: find the best solution. And often that might involve helping
S3: them call the provider or institution that they're going just
S3: to break down some of those barriers so they feel
S3: comfortable to make that call.
S2: Welcome to the program. We've got a great show in
S2: store for you this week as we celebrate a special
S2: birthday with the 30th anniversary of the Reading Writing Hotline,
S2: who have spent the past three decades referring callers to
S2: the services they require to improve their literacy and numeracy.
S2: I catch up with the manager of the Reading Writing Hotline,
S2: Vanessa Iles, and that interview is coming up very shortly
S2: after my conversation with Vanessa. It's almost time for the
S2: Melbourne Writers Festival coming up in early May, and we've
S2: got a couple of events at the Vision Australia office
S2: in Kooyong to let you know about. I'm speaking with
S2: the artistic director of the festival, Micaela McGuire. She'll tell
S2: us a little bit more about those events, but also
S2: the festival more broadly, and that conversation is coming up
S2: later in the show. I hope you enjoyed this week's
S2: episode of Talking Vision. I began the interview with Vanessa
S2: by asking about the history of the Reading Writing hotline,
S2: as well as an overview of the hotline and the
S2: work they do.
S3: Absolutely. Well, we started in 1994 and we came out
S3: of the International Year of Literacy, and that was a
S3: big acknowledgement that there's lots of people out in the
S3: community that need help with their reading and writing. Many
S3: of those people may have gone to school in Australia.
S3: And so it's not a language issue. It's a literacy
S3: reading and writing issue. And they often don't feel comfortable
S3: putting their hand up and saying, I'm struggling with my
S3: reading and writing. They might feel a bit of shame
S3: and embarrassment around that. And so the ABC put a program,
S3: ABC TV put a program together, which was a literacy
S3: program for adults that they could enjoy in their lounge rooms.
S3: So they had a workbook, they could watch the TV,
S3: they worked. You know, they had sort of an online
S3: teacher with some little skits. It was quite kind of
S3: a funny program. And then they needed teachers on, on
S3: the phone lines to help them if they got stuck
S3: with their workbooks. So that was sort of the genesis
S3: of the hotline. And we we assisted. That program was
S3: called the Reading Writing Roadshow, and it went for years
S3: on the ABC. It was very, very popular and ran
S3: quite a few times over the years. So at the
S3: end of that program, people realized that they still they'd
S3: finish the program and then they're like, oh, now I
S3: want it. What? How do I get into a classroom?
S3: I've got my confidence up. How do I get into
S3: a classroom? And then the hotline just continued. So our
S3: job now really is to take calls from the public,
S3: from anyone who wants to improve their own reading and writing,
S3: and now digital skills through to community workers, family members, employers.
S3: Lots of people call us saying, look, I'm seeking some
S3: support for someone I know, and we help them sort
S3: of navigate. It's pretty tricky field out there. We get them,
S3: help them to find a class that's going to be
S3: good for them and talk them through all the barriers
S3: that they might face that they're worried about, so that
S3: they can get into a classroom.
S2: And given it's kicked off in 1994, that's riding the
S2: wave of the internet, has that sort of became a
S2: fledgling medium and really, as we know, took off in
S2: the coming decades to where it is now, where it's
S2: an absolutely ubiquitous medium found in literally every corner of society.
S2: So that's also an interesting backdrop against which the hotline
S2: has found itself over the past three decades. So what
S2: sort of impact has this advance in technology had on
S2: the various shapes that the hotline has taken over the
S2: past 30 years?
S3: That's a great question, Sam. And I think people would
S3: be surprised to know that we haven't changed that much.
S3: And the reason for that is typically the cons of
S3: calls we get from people where they might be struggling
S3: with their reading and writing. When you add a digital
S3: layer on top of that, it actually is another literacy.
S3: So it actually compounds the problem for people already struggling
S3: with their reading and writing. And we know that, you know,
S3: there's plenty of people, particularly in older generations in the community,
S3: that read and write perfectly well and they, you know,
S3: manage their day to day and their work life with
S3: those literacy skills. But once they have to go online,
S3: it's a whole different story. So what we find is,
S3: while we do have a website available for people to access,
S3: and we have resources online that people can access, most
S3: people still really prefer a phone line because of the
S3: human connection. So we don't have a complicated phone menu where,
S3: you know, if you ring a bank, it often takes
S3: you five minutes listening to press four for this, press
S3: five for that. We've got a very straightforward phone line.
S3: People just ring through and speak with the teacher, and
S3: if we're on the phone, it'll go to a voicemail
S3: and one call back. So that's actually seems to be
S3: the medium that people still prefer. We do receive emails,
S3: but in terms of sort of really embracing this whole,
S3: you know, availability of now other platforms, it actually gets
S3: really complicated for people. And so we just keep it straightforward.
S3: We can send people resources in lots of different formats.
S3: They may want it in text or they may want
S3: it anymore. They may want it mailed to them. But
S3: in terms of actual accepting calls from people, the good
S3: old phone line is still what works.
S4: Over the.
S2: Years. Vanessa, I'm curious to hear about people ringing in
S2: to the hotline and contacting you via the website and
S2: email who are blind or have low vision. Could you
S2: go into a little bit of detail around that, and
S2: the sort of ways in which the hotline can help.
S3: As we do with all of the population? We have
S3: a really wide variety of calls from people who have
S3: vision impairment, and some of them may. Have had a
S3: vision impairment from birth. Some of them, it may be
S3: a gradually being lost and they're calling us because they're
S3: now struggling where they weren't before. Or it may have been,
S3: you know, a sudden vision loss as a result of
S3: an injury. You know, one of the calls I can
S3: think of we received was from someone who was experiencing
S3: deteriorating vision, and they explained that, you know, they needed
S3: to be able to read manuals. They were fixing cars
S3: and they wanted to be able to read manuals, and
S3: they really needed help with that. So I suppose the
S3: first thing we have to do is really unpack what
S3: is the literacy help they need from what is the
S3: assistance they need with their vision or their deteriorating vision.
S3: And that can actually take quite a bit of time
S3: to unpack that information. And once we determine, then assuming
S3: there is some sort of literacy issue, and assuming they
S3: also want to go to a class to improve their literacy,
S3: then we'll talk them through what that involves, what RTOs
S3: might be. Sorry, RTOs are registered training organizations, so they
S3: might be tafes or they might be a private provider
S3: talking through what options are available and how it will work.
S3: So in that particular case, with that bloke that needed
S3: help with reading a manual, it was really it wasn't
S3: a literacy issue, it was that his eyesight was deteriorating.
S3: And so in those cases, we refer callers through to
S3: Vision Australia to discuss perhaps some sort of adaptive technology
S3: or how they may cope with that. In another case,
S3: we had a call from a young woman who she
S3: was in her 20s. She said that she really wanted
S3: to increase her literacy skills because she wanted to get work,
S3: and she had what she described as a severe vision impairment.
S3: She left school when she was about 13, and so
S3: she felt that she didn't get all of the reading
S3: and writing skills that she needed. And so in that case,
S3: we found out who was the providers in her area
S3: that would offer classes. And then with her permission, she
S3: she actually requested that we help her sort of with
S3: the next step. So then we rang there was a
S3: TAFE in this instance and spoke with the teacher consultant
S3: for students who have disabilities, and they explained that they've
S3: got a really long kind of they do a functional
S3: assessment on what the requirements are. And so we could
S3: talk that through with her. And then we eventually passed
S3: her over to the tape. But it's kind of, you know,
S3: people often they're feeling embarrassed about their literacy skills to
S3: start with and they just don't know where to start.
S3: And so being able to unpack that information for them
S3: and then to let them know the kinds of questions
S3: that the TAFE might ask to help them support her better,
S3: was really helpful for her. And then she felt confident
S3: to make that next step. We do hear from people
S3: that often they use their vision as a strategy for
S3: not acknowledging their limited reading and writing skills. So they
S3: might say they forgot their glasses or they're struggling with
S3: their eyesight. So it really takes quite a bit of
S3: questioning to unpack that.
S2: Of course, we will also stress that, as you've mentioned,
S2: it is a referral service where people can ring up
S2: and find a way to get the resources that they
S2: do need. And that's one of the most crucial aspects
S2: of the hotline, is to point people in the right direction,
S2: but looking forward to the future now. Vanessa, what are
S2: some challenges but also opportunities that the hotline is looking
S2: to address over the coming months, years, perhaps decades to come?
S4: Well, I.
S3: Think that one of the really big issues is that
S3: the literacy, numeracy and digital skill requirements are increasing in
S3: every aspect of our life. So whereas once upon a time,
S3: we may have been able to hold down a job
S3: that didn't require very much reading and writing, and we
S3: came home and we could spend time with our family.
S3: These days, we know that most jobs, even if they're
S3: predominantly a manual focus, will require significant reading and writing skills.
S3: And then when you come home from work, you often
S3: have a whole lot of admin to do, which requires
S3: answering emails, which again requires literacy and numeracy. So we
S3: know that there's a really big increase in the skills required.
S3: And unfortunately, the increase in literacy and numeracy in the
S3: community is not increasing. So we can see there's a
S3: big role for us. As you really correctly pointed out, Sam,
S3: we we are a referral organisation, so we don't provide
S3: the support, the reading and writing support ourselves, but we
S3: help people to find the best solution. And often that
S3: might involve helping them call the provider or institution that
S3: they're going just to break down some of those barriers
S3: so they feel comfortable to make that call. One thing
S3: we really want to work on, and I had a
S3: perfect example of this in my inbox this morning from
S3: an organisation we work with, is just the complexity of
S3: language that people use unnecessarily. And, you know, and that
S3: would be compounded, I imagine, for people with a vision
S3: impairment who, you know, may really tire from having to
S3: see so much text. And that is just, you know,
S3: it's not. Necessary. So we're really pushing. We have a
S3: reader friendly handbook on our website and working with large organizations,
S3: government organizations, to get them to simplify unnecessarily complicated language
S3: so that it's more accessible to people. You know, I
S3: really nearly half of the population would really struggle with
S3: a standard government form that you have to fill out,
S3: and there's no need for it to be so complicated.
S3: So that's one of the big challenges we face and
S3: something we're really advocating for at the moment.
S2: And for listeners out there who are looking to get
S2: in touch with the reading writing hotline, that number, of course,
S2: as people would have known over the years 1306506, but
S2: also for people to get in touch with you online, perhaps, Vanessa,
S2: if that's the way that they'd like to contact you,
S2: what is that website and email for people to get
S2: in touch?
S3: Yeah, it's reading writing hotline.edu dot now. So I think
S3: for most people, if they type in reading into the
S3: search engine, it'll come up somewhere within the first sort
S3: of page of responses. So reading writing hotline.edu dot o
S3: u and you'll find us, there's a form on there
S3: that you can click and it'll send us an email.
S3: And there's lots of information on there about what happens
S3: when you call the hotline. What are some resources that
S3: might be available. You know, and it's a good starting
S3: point for people.
S2: Well, there's, you know, so much we could talk about Vanessa,
S2: but that's all the time we've got for now. I've
S2: been speaking today with Vanessa Iles, manager of the Reading
S2: Writing Hotline, joining me today to celebrate the 30th anniversary
S2: of the hotline. And we wish them a very happy
S2: 30th birthday and many successes, no doubt into the future.
S2: I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
S2: Vision Australia Radio, associated rating radio services around the country
S2: and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that
S2: conversation there with Vanessa from the Rating Writing Hotline. If
S2: you missed any part of that conversation with Vanessa, I'd
S2: love to hear it again. Talking vision is available on
S2: the Vision Australia Radio website at RVA radio.org. That's RVA radio.org.
S2: You can also find the program on the podcast app
S2: of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. And
S2: coming up now I chat with Mikaela. I began by
S2: asking Mikaela to give us an overview of the Melbourne
S2: Writers Festival.
S5: Yeah, so Melbourne Writers Festival started in 1984, and we
S5: are running the most recent edition from the 6th to
S5: the 12th of May this year. We've got about 50
S5: public events featuring almost 100 writers from Australia to all
S5: around the world, right here in Melbourne. It's the most
S5: thrilling lineup that I've put together in all my years
S5: of directing festivals. This is my fourth Melbourne Writers Festival,
S5: and we cannot wait to start welcoming audiences and authors
S5: to Melbourne very soon.
S2: That's right, and it's a very exciting time. You've recently
S2: launched the program for the festival, so tell us a
S2: little bit about your recent program launch.
S5: It was such a fun night. It was about two
S5: weeks ago now on a Thursday evening at the wonderful
S5: Crystal Palace and Courtyard in Carlton, which is a beautiful venue.
S5: We were surrounded by friends, colleagues from the industry, book talkers, readers,
S5: long time friends of the festival and authors. And honestly,
S5: it was the launch of my dreams. As soon as
S5: I started announcing the names of authors who'd be coming
S5: to join us in person, like Ann Patchett, for instance,
S5: there were audible gasps from the crowd. People were cheering
S5: and clapping. It's such an exciting lineup, and it's one
S5: of the nicest moments of the year for the festival
S5: team to be able to show off all of this
S5: really hard work, and to finally stop keeping the secrets
S5: that we've been keeping about who we've got joining us
S5: this year. But like I said, Ann Patchett just was
S5: met with the most amazing groups and cheers. She is
S5: such a beloved author of so many people, myself included.
S5: She runs a bookstore in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee,
S5: which is legendary. She has published books like Bel Canto, Commonwealth,
S5: State of Wonder. I mean, she's such like a sort
S5: of cultural phenomenon. She's even mentioned in an episode of
S5: Lena Dunham show girls very early on. She's just this
S5: huge cultural touchstone for people universally beloved, and we are
S5: so lucky to have her joining us here in Melbourne.
S5: It's her first trip to Australia in almost ten years,
S5: and she'll be joined by her good friend and fellow
S5: author Meg Mason, who was the author of Sorrow and Bliss.
S5: And they're going to be talking about something a little
S5: bit different this festival. They're not going to be talking
S5: about the books that they've published. They're going to be
S5: talking about the books that they never published, the second
S5: drafts of books that they kept stashed in a drawer
S5: that they didn't feel could see the light of day.
S5: And in any case, that's an entire other draft of
S5: her book called The Dutch House that links into this
S5: year's festival theme, which is ghosts. And that particular event
S5: is called Spectres at the feast. But all throughout the program,
S5: we'll be looking at different sorts of hauntings, whether that's
S5: political ghosts or the ghosts of history, ghosts of past relationships,
S5: ghosts of our past selves, as well as the idea
S5: of our future, our collective hopeful future as a sort
S5: of ghostly possibility. So these are the themes that have
S5: come out in the novels and the nonfiction books that
S5: will be part of the program. And this is the
S5: framework that we're using to ask authors to engage with
S5: each other on stage.
S4: And that's fantastic.
S2: News to hear people like Ann Patchett heading along and,
S2: you know, having somebody of that stature at the Melbourne
S2: Writers Festival, that's a fantastic win for the team. But
S2: also that discussion that not only Ann Patchett will be having,
S2: but all the other authors around her about those, you know,
S2: second drafts, things I weren't confident enough to publish, things
S2: that didn't quite get there. That's a really interesting peek
S2: into the behind the scenes of what it's like to
S2: be a writer. So those are going to be really
S2: interesting sort of sessions for sure.
S5: Yeah, I think that's right. I mean, a lot of
S5: our audience are just general members of the public who
S5: love to read, who perhaps don't necessarily know that much
S5: about how books come together. So I think it it's
S5: really valuable to demystify the process, right, to let people
S5: know that, you know, these perfectly formed, magisterial pieces of work,
S5: you know, don't just flow forward from an author's fingers, but,
S5: you know, it's a really hard job. And years and
S5: years of work and lots of frustration grows into the
S5: finished products that we get lucky enough to find in book.
S5: Bookstores or in libraries. The other thing, of course, about
S5: Ann Patchett is that she has the best audiobook narrators
S5: in the world. Meryl Streep does her most recent novel.
S4: Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Oh my God,
S4: it's so great.
S5: And, um, Tom Hanks does the Dutch house.
S4: Wow. Yeah. Wow. Okay, no, I want.
S2: To go back to that launch. And, you know, those
S2: feelings of, you know, it all went so well, and
S2: that's an absolute dream come true with all these people
S2: coming together. And when you're involved in something like that
S2: and it goes off without a hitch. That's just such
S2: a wonderful feeling, isn't it?
S5: It is. Yeah. There were definitely some hitches backstage, but
S5: as a festival team, that's our job. To make it
S5: seem incredibly smooth and polished on the outside. And it
S5: had such a lovely feel like it was just a
S5: big room full of friends, uh, people who really love
S5: the festival and the ones who are most eager to
S5: hear about it. Very first of all.
S2: Now one of the other important things, the reason why
S2: we're catching up today is about, um, Virgin Australia partnering
S2: up as an accessibility and inclusion partner to the Melbourne
S2: Writers Festival in 2024. So could you go into a
S2: bit of detail about why the Melbourne Writers Festival has
S2: partnered with Virgin Australia Radio? Again, in this capacity.
S4: I feel.
S5: Like you're just asking for compliments.
S4: Oh that's okay.
S5: We love working with Virgin Australia Library. It's such a
S5: terrific partnership for us. We're really aware of the fact
S5: that it's not always practical or possible for people to
S5: get to our events in the city, so we're always
S5: looking to broaden the access and make the festival as
S5: inclusive as possible. Uh, like I said, you know, we
S5: spend a year putting these festivals together. So as much
S5: as we're able to within our resources, we want to
S5: be able to make sure that they're able to be
S5: enjoyed by as many people as possible. So a big
S5: part of that is doing a couple of events with
S5: Virgin Australia Library in Kooyong every year. We've got two
S5: amazing events this year, and of course we also work
S5: with you to make sure that there's an audio guide
S5: available for our program guide that you can access through
S5: our website, just through the festival Information and Access part.
S5: But if you prefer to listen to the program guide,
S5: perhaps while you're having a cup of tea or doing
S5: something else, that's a really easy way for people to
S5: be able to get across the program, hear all about
S5: what's happening, and decide which events they want to go to,
S5: and start marking them down and booking tickets.
S2: I would love to have a chat about the Vision
S2: Australia library events and the tour events. As you've mentioned
S2: that the Melbourne Writers Festival is involved with presenting. So
S2: let's start off with Toby Walsh's event Machines Behaving Badly.
S2: That's quite an interesting one for people out there.
S5: Yeah, I mean, this is one of the biggest topics
S5: of the modern age, right, about how AI interacts with
S5: our everyday lives and what that's going to look like
S5: in the rapidly evolving future. And Toby Walsh is a
S5: world leading AI expert. He's based in Sydney, and the
S5: machine's behaving badly as the title of his latest books.
S5: It's about the morality of AI, so he's going to
S5: be talking about all of the ethical considerations that we
S5: need to be bearing into mind as we make this
S5: technology more and more enmeshed with our daily lives. We've
S5: got a session elsewhere in the festival as well, talking
S5: about the role of art and how it intersects with
S5: AI particularly, you know, the question of whether ChatGPT can
S5: write a great novel, which is something that, you know,
S5: I'm sure university students are grappling with all around the country. Yes. Um,
S5: but yeah, Toby is going to be chatting about, I guess,
S5: the unexpected consequences of these technologies. And he'll be in
S5: conversation with Elizabeth McCarthy, who's a fantastic broadcaster who was
S5: at Triple-A for a number of years and is now
S5: director of the Queenscliff Writers Festival as well. So she's
S5: a fantastic interviewer. And I think this conversation between her
S5: and Toby is going to be fascinating.
S2: And following on from that conversation with Toby will also
S2: be hosting a conversation with Louise Milligan in particular about
S2: pheasants Nest, her new book, which has come out.
S5: Yeah, so most people will obviously be familiar with Louise
S5: as her award winning journalist. I work on Four Corners.
S5: She's written non-fiction books, but this is her first foray
S5: into fiction, and David Marr said that it was a
S5: thriller that only a journalist could have written. So she's
S5: really drawn on the stories that she's reported on throughout
S5: her career to write this book, and it's about a
S5: reporter who gets abducted, so it's meant to be very addictive,
S5: but distinctly Australian as well. I can't wait to read
S5: this one. I haven't had a chance to do it yet,
S5: but I'm looking for a really pacey thriller and this
S5: apparently will fit the bill. But we also really love
S5: the way that Louise's book fits in with that festival
S5: theme of ghosts, because I think she'll talk about the
S5: stories that she's worked on that have really haunted her,
S5: the victims that she's interviewed, who have stayed with her,
S5: and why she's been compelled to turn their stories or
S5: to draw inspiration from their stories to help write this book.
S2: And Mikaela. Chewing on a little secret. The Vision Australia
S2: Library readers do absolutely love a pacey thriller, so I
S2: think this one will be very highly sought after. So
S2: let's give people some details about those two events, though,
S2: of course, taking place at Virgin Australia's office in Kooyong.
S2: But also that's on May the 10th. So what times
S2: are those? And, you know, how can people sign up
S2: to head along.
S5: So you can book via the link on the Melbourne
S5: Writers Festival website, which is just you can just Google
S5: Melbourne Writers Festival, it'll take you right there or MWF.
S5: Com.au and Toby Walshs event is on at 6:00 and
S5: closes is at 8:00.
S4: All right.
S5: So perfect. You can do the double bill. Have a
S5: lovely Friday night at Kooyong.
S2: It'll be action packed. Hopefully. A lot of people head long.
S2: I'm sure it's going to be absolutely packed to the rafters.
S2: A lot of interest from a lot of people, especially
S2: with those sort of topics and really interesting topics of
S2: the time, but also a genre of novel that, you know,
S2: people really do get around at the Vision of Style library.
S2: So that couldn't fit better. It's absolute perfect fit. So
S2: looking forward to seeing how that goes. Now. The website
S2: that people can head to of course is mwf.com. Are
S2: you is there perhaps any emails or phone numbers that
S2: people could, um, perhaps get in touch with in case
S2: they'd like some more information or they're having a bit
S2: of trouble with registering or accessibility or something like that.
S2: And they want to let you know.
S5: Definitely. So the best phone number from Monday to Friday
S5: between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Although please do leave
S5: a voicemail message now. Getting a manager will get back
S5: to you is 9999199, and anyone who uses T and
S5: phone 133677. And then they can ask for our regular
S5: number which is 99991199. Speak and listen. Users can also
S5: phone 1300 555 727 and ask for that number again, which is 99991199.
S5: And then we also accept calls via the National Relay Service.
S5: You've got to register for that online, but you can
S5: also call the National Relay Service at 133677.
S2: Okay, perfect. I've been speaking today with artistic Director Mikaela
S2: McGuire from the Melbourne Writers Festival, catching up with me
S2: today to chat about the upcoming festival and a couple
S2: of events that are taking place at the Vision Australia
S2: offices in Kooyong on the 10th of May. And that's
S2: all the time we have for today. You've been listening
S2: to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production.
S2: Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week.
S2: And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get
S2: in touch anytime on our email at Talking Vision. At
S2: vision.org that's talking vision or one word at Vision australia.org.
S2: But until next week it's Sam Cowley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 384 746
S1: or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision Australia call.