WEBVTT - Talking Vision 760 Week Beginning 23rd of December 2024 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:18.920 From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's 0:00:18.919 --> 0:00:20.919 your host, Sam Colley. 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.520 Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:29.560 for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:30.560 and low vision. 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:35.440 Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas. Thank you for helping light 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:38.280 up the lives of children who are blind or have 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.640 low vision this Christmas. Merry Christmas. 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:47.000 Welcome to this special Christmas episode of Talking Vision. You 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:50.680 heard right. That was Santa there with a special message 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:55.520 for Vision Australia Radio and Vision Australia more broadly for 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:59.960 their work in 2024. And we wish everybody out there 0:00:59.959 --> 0:01:05.610 a merry Christmas as well from the team at Talking Vision. Envision. Today, 0:01:05.610 --> 0:01:10.250 we feature a couple of my favorite interviews over 2024, 0:01:10.810 --> 0:01:16.090 starting with Catholic O&M, who was the recipient of an 0:01:16.090 --> 0:01:20.169 Order of Australia for her work in the community radio 0:01:20.170 --> 0:01:25.009 sector over the past four decades. Let's hear from Kath now. 0:01:25.649 --> 0:01:28.850 Kath Lietch is a name familiar to many in the 0:01:28.850 --> 0:01:33.850 community radio sector, having been involved in community radio for 0:01:33.850 --> 0:01:38.089 over four decades now at stations in Perth and Melbourne, 0:01:38.090 --> 0:01:43.770 as well as nationally with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, 0:01:43.770 --> 0:01:47.329 and is the recent recipient of an OAM for her 0:01:47.330 --> 0:01:52.290 services to community radio. In the spirit of World Radio Day, 0:01:52.290 --> 0:01:56.570 it's my great pleasure to welcome Kath now. Kath, welcome 0:01:56.570 --> 0:01:59.290 to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time. 0:02:00.210 --> 0:02:02.249 Hi Sam. Nice to talk with you. 0:02:02.850 --> 0:02:07.260 Now, Kath, as I understand you've been involved with community 0:02:07.260 --> 0:02:11.860 radio for well over three decades now. So what sort 0:02:11.860 --> 0:02:13.700 of kicked it all off for you? Where did you 0:02:13.700 --> 0:02:14.580 get started? 0:02:15.500 --> 0:02:20.220 I started with a station called six Uvws, now known 0:02:20.220 --> 0:02:26.300 as RTR in Perth in the late 70s. So quite 0:02:26.300 --> 0:02:30.580 some time back now. And I had a range of 0:02:30.580 --> 0:02:35.700 friends and acquaintances that were involved in the radio station, 0:02:35.700 --> 0:02:40.740 and I came to it through that network. And uh, 0:02:40.780 --> 0:02:47.220 six Uvws was an educational station associated with the University 0:02:47.220 --> 0:02:53.140 of Western Australia, and at a sort of later stage, also, Murdoch, 0:02:53.540 --> 0:02:55.820 it's been through a number of changes, and it's a 0:02:55.820 --> 0:03:01.060 completely independent community based station now as RTR FM. 0:03:01.420 --> 0:03:04.480 And how did you sort of get bitten by the 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.400 radio bug? What was the sort of thing that really 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:09.440 sparked that off for you at a young age? 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:16.079 I think it was largely out of a music interest 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:20.000 at that time. RTI was a mixture of fine music 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:24.720 because the university had a fine music department and talks, 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.320 and what sounds rather quaint now was that a group 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:33.480 of young people were interested in non-classical music of all 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:37.360 kinds of genres, but contemporary music. And I think that 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:41.960 was the starting point of my interest. It was an 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.520 era when music was not so available to people in 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:50.280 the way it is now online, and that was the 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:54.520 sort of start of my engagement as a volunteer and 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:58.480 being involved in a couple of different programs. As time 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:02.890 went by, I became more and more interested in the 0:04:02.930 --> 0:04:07.090 kind of talks and conversation sides of radio, but certainly 0:04:07.090 --> 0:04:10.290 in those early years it was music that took me 0:04:10.290 --> 0:04:11.210 into it. 0:04:11.210 --> 0:04:14.730 And Kathe, well, fast forward now a little while, to 0:04:14.730 --> 0:04:18.529 a couple of the management positions that you've been involved 0:04:18.529 --> 0:04:22.370 with over the time with, you know, being the general manager, 0:04:22.370 --> 0:04:25.690 for example, of triple R for the best part of 0:04:25.690 --> 0:04:29.370 15 years. So you would have seen so many, you know, 0:04:29.370 --> 0:04:33.050 changes over that time. So what was the biggest sort 0:04:33.050 --> 0:04:35.089 of or 1 or 2 of the biggest sort of 0:04:35.130 --> 0:04:37.610 changes that you observed in your time? 0:04:38.410 --> 0:04:44.330 I guess the really big change was computerization and digitization 0:04:44.330 --> 0:04:49.610 and the kind of introduction of the online world. And, um, 0:04:49.650 --> 0:04:54.890 you know, that has created very sort of significant changes 0:04:55.050 --> 0:04:59.890 in the production of radio, not necessarily the nature of 0:04:59.890 --> 0:05:05.500 radio itself, but certainly in the production and operations of 0:05:05.500 --> 0:05:10.460 radio stations. And of course, as various forms of online 0:05:10.460 --> 0:05:15.020 communications have developed. The advent of social media and the 0:05:15.020 --> 0:05:20.580 multiplication of a range of online communication. Points. So I think, 0:05:20.620 --> 0:05:26.340 you know, the technology changes have been the very significant changes. 0:05:26.460 --> 0:05:32.580 That I've observed over the time I've been involved, though interestingly, 0:05:32.580 --> 0:05:38.580 I think. Technology changes the processes and approach to some 0:05:38.580 --> 0:05:42.540 information but doesn't necessarily. Sort of change the heart of 0:05:42.540 --> 0:05:43.219 what you do. 0:05:43.780 --> 0:05:48.060 No, that's absolutely true. And Kath, you. Moved from triple 0:05:48.100 --> 0:05:52.780 R to more of a broader sector wide involvement with 0:05:52.900 --> 0:05:58.820 community Radio. If your roles at the Community Broadcasting Association 0:05:58.820 --> 0:06:03.030 of Australia. And also that sort of gave you the 0:06:03.030 --> 0:06:07.870 opportunity to, you know, have some more involvement with the network. 0:06:08.070 --> 0:06:12.190 One of which, the stations is, of course, Vision Australia Radio, 0:06:12.230 --> 0:06:15.550 where we're speaking today. So tell us a bit about 0:06:15.550 --> 0:06:18.510 your involvement with RP there. 0:06:19.150 --> 0:06:24.029 Well, in the 90s, while my working role was general 0:06:24.030 --> 0:06:29.350 manager at triple R in Melbourne, my voluntary role and 0:06:29.350 --> 0:06:31.870 as you'd be aware, Sam, there's a very high number 0:06:31.870 --> 0:06:37.150 of volunteers in the sector, about 20,000 nationally. I joined 0:06:37.150 --> 0:06:42.390 the CBA board and became CBA president in the mid 0:06:42.390 --> 0:06:51.550 90s and continued an association with sector wide issues really 0:06:51.590 --> 0:06:54.870 since that point of time, and that brought me into 0:06:54.910 --> 0:06:59.920 a lot closer association with the sector much more broadly. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.600 And as you would know, it's an extremely diverse sector. 0:07:03.840 --> 0:07:12.520 So indigenous broadcasting, religious broadcasting, educational broadcasting, the radio reading 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:20.480 sector with stations for print disabilities and youth stations and 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:25.040 a very broad range of small regional stations, many of 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:29.240 which are operated on a voluntary basis. And so from 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.160 that period in the 90s, I had a much stronger 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:37.720 association with a broad range of radio services. And certainly 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:43.520 the RPA sector that Vision Australia is a part of 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.600 and which has, you know, a very broad audience in 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:51.800 the community, both with people who would identify as print disability, 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:56.840 but also with people who enjoy the kind of radio 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:02.770 reading services that are produced. Community radio services, I think, 0:08:02.770 --> 0:08:09.330 provide a range of really essential services within the community 0:08:09.330 --> 0:08:16.010 that engage and speak to communities of interest that are 0:08:16.050 --> 0:08:20.570 such a valuable part of the diversity in Australian communities. 0:08:20.770 --> 0:08:25.610 Definitely. No, that's absolutely 100% correct. And the way that 0:08:25.610 --> 0:08:30.210 these community radio stations do bring their communities of interest 0:08:30.210 --> 0:08:35.170 together is absolutely second to none. And I will come 0:08:35.170 --> 0:08:39.130 back to that later on, because there is so much 0:08:39.130 --> 0:08:43.329 to say about the power of radio as we celebrate 0:08:43.449 --> 0:08:46.929 World Radio Day this week. But before I get to that, 0:08:46.929 --> 0:08:50.849 I wanted to firstly congratulate you, Kath, on being the 0:08:50.849 --> 0:08:55.530 recipient of an Order of Australia medal for your services 0:08:55.530 --> 0:08:58.869 to the To the community radio sector. How does that 0:08:58.870 --> 0:09:01.829 sit with you to, you know, be recognised in such 0:09:01.870 --> 0:09:05.470 a way for all the crucial work you have been doing? 0:09:05.910 --> 0:09:10.350 Yes, it's certainly an honour to be recognised in that 0:09:10.349 --> 0:09:14.990 way and I think for everyone it's always a good 0:09:14.990 --> 0:09:18.670 feeling to have work acknowledged. And I think particularly in 0:09:18.670 --> 0:09:22.830 a sector that there are so many deserving people, so 0:09:22.829 --> 0:09:26.550 many people that have put very large parts of their 0:09:26.550 --> 0:09:31.389 life into being involved with a community radio station and 0:09:31.390 --> 0:09:37.230 broadcasting and being part of that community. And so I 0:09:37.229 --> 0:09:42.189 feel like it's a privilege to be recognised for my 0:09:42.189 --> 0:09:45.750 work in the sector when there are so many wonderful 0:09:45.750 --> 0:09:50.150 volunteers and deserving people. And I think that's, you know, 0:09:50.189 --> 0:09:54.999 the way in which people connect through community radio US 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:59.360 stations is quite a special feature. It crosses over all 0:09:59.359 --> 0:10:03.359 sorts of ages and lifestyles in a way that often 0:10:03.359 --> 0:10:09.759 other community enterprises don't necessarily do, and I think it 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:19.400 activates a sense of community and citizenship that's increasingly important 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:24.200 in quite a fractured and complex modern world. And it's 0:10:24.199 --> 0:10:29.280 something that's important to everyone, regardless of what particular focus. 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.960 And I think the way in which radio, as a 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:37.320 sort of intimate medium, connects with people. And I think 0:10:37.319 --> 0:10:41.800 that was really clear, perhaps particularly in Melbourne during the 0:10:41.839 --> 0:10:45.039 sort of Covid period with such sort of lengthy lockdowns. 0:10:45.079 --> 0:10:47.559 And I had a lot of contact with the community 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.880 stations in Melbourne over that time. And I know that 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.720 there was a lot of feedback from people being able 0:10:53.719 --> 0:10:57.089 to tune in and kind of connect in this way 0:10:57.089 --> 0:11:00.209 as part of what's keeping me sane in lockdown. And 0:11:00.209 --> 0:11:03.329 I think there's an element of that in the nature 0:11:03.329 --> 0:11:08.050 of radio services and broadcaster as a kind of very 0:11:08.050 --> 0:11:10.250 accessible medium. 0:11:10.290 --> 0:11:13.970 That's certainly true. And with these days, like World Radio Day, 0:11:14.010 --> 0:11:18.370 that encapsulates all of those thoughts that you did express 0:11:18.370 --> 0:11:22.129 just there. And it is so, so true that, you know, 0:11:22.130 --> 0:11:27.130 community radio does offer something that in some ways, no 0:11:27.130 --> 0:11:30.770 other sort of medium really can get close to. And 0:11:30.890 --> 0:11:34.330 it is such a unique, such a, a long standing, but, 0:11:34.329 --> 0:11:39.010 you know, successful and wide ranging medium for sure. So 0:11:39.010 --> 0:11:42.290 what do those sort of days mean for you as 0:11:42.290 --> 0:11:45.729 somebody who has been involved in the sector for so 0:11:45.729 --> 0:11:49.970 long and seen just the positive impact that radio can 0:11:49.969 --> 0:11:52.889 have on people around the country? 0:11:53.179 --> 0:11:56.620 Yeah. So I guess those days sort of act as 0:11:56.620 --> 0:12:01.020 a reminder of the kind of uniqueness of radio in 0:12:01.020 --> 0:12:04.780 a sense. And, you know, I think it's an environment 0:12:04.780 --> 0:12:08.820 where there is so much information available to people, so 0:12:08.939 --> 0:12:13.699 many assumptions that we are all online all of the time. 0:12:13.740 --> 0:12:17.140 But there's perhaps not enough discussion of sort of breaking 0:12:17.140 --> 0:12:22.220 that down to sort of how you access information that's 0:12:22.260 --> 0:12:28.859 meaningful or important to individuals and particular areas of our community. 0:12:29.020 --> 0:12:33.179 And so I think it's a celebration, I suppose, in 0:12:33.179 --> 0:12:36.260 a sense of the nature of radio. And I think 0:12:36.260 --> 0:12:41.260 it's an incredibly resilient medium. You know, something like 60% 0:12:41.260 --> 0:12:45.780 of all audio listening in Australia is still listening to 0:12:45.819 --> 0:12:52.139 live radio broadcast services. And I'm someone who very strongly 0:12:52.179 --> 0:12:56.510 sort of supports the nature of free to air broadcasting. That, 0:12:56.510 --> 0:12:59.030 of course, doesn't mean that there hasn't been a lot 0:12:59.030 --> 0:13:03.150 of change in technology, and people access things in different ways, 0:13:03.150 --> 0:13:07.310 and radio services need to be wherever their audience is 0:13:07.309 --> 0:13:11.670 and however their audience chooses to access. But I think 0:13:11.670 --> 0:13:14.670 it's a different medium to the notion of sort of 0:13:14.670 --> 0:13:18.829 individual online content where you or I or anyone else 0:13:18.829 --> 0:13:22.470 that can be online and sort of talk about or 0:13:22.469 --> 0:13:26.150 espouse whatever our ideas or thoughts are, there's a different 0:13:26.150 --> 0:13:31.829 kind of collective responsibility in broadcasting where you're broadcasting to 0:13:31.870 --> 0:13:36.790 potentially an entire community. You have a set of responsibilities 0:13:36.790 --> 0:13:41.269 around that. And I think these are important distinctions in 0:13:41.270 --> 0:13:47.670 the nature of information and reliable information. That's an important 0:13:47.670 --> 0:13:52.720 part of our social cohesion and a kind of civic 0:13:52.719 --> 0:13:56.280 society that the vast majority of people wish to be 0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:57.040 a part of. 0:13:57.319 --> 0:14:00.640 Kath. We could speak for hours. There's so much there, 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:05.679 so much to unpack. Absolutely. But unfortunately, I think we'll 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:09.720 have to wrap up for now. I've been speaking today 0:14:09.719 --> 0:14:14.600 with Catholic, celebrating World Radio Day with me today, and 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:19.560 speaking about just how powerful a medium radio really can 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:23.520 be for people around Australia and the world, in fact. 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.680 So thank you very much for your time today. It 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.600 was a pleasure to catch up with you. 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:31.759 Thanks, Sam. Lovely to talk with you. 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.720 I'm Sam Cully and you're listening to this special Christmas 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:46.960 episode of Talking Vision. I hope you enjoyed that conversation 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:51.860 with Kath Letcher. And they're coming up now. It's my 0:14:51.859 --> 0:14:55.300 great pleasure to welcome back a favorite of ours on 0:14:55.340 --> 0:14:59.580 Talking Vision, Karen Negroni. He was the host of the 0:14:59.660 --> 0:15:03.860 Blind Australian of the year awards a couple of months ago, 0:15:03.859 --> 0:15:07.540 and I caught up with him just before he flew 0:15:07.540 --> 0:15:11.580 off to Brisbane to host the awards. Let's hear from Karen. 0:15:11.900 --> 0:15:15.899 The Blind Australian of the year Awards acknowledged the contribution 0:15:15.900 --> 0:15:20.620 that people with blindness and low vision make to Australian society. 0:15:21.140 --> 0:15:25.980 These awards bring acknowledgment and prizes for the recipients, taking 0:15:25.979 --> 0:15:31.300 place on the 26th of October in Brisbane this year, 0:15:31.300 --> 0:15:34.420 and to have a chat with us about the awards. 0:15:34.420 --> 0:15:38.300 It's my great pleasure to welcome back a favourite of ours, 0:15:38.340 --> 0:15:42.900 Karen Negroni, who will be the emcee for the night. Karen, 0:15:42.979 --> 0:15:46.539 welcome back to Talking Vision. Thanks so much for your time. 0:15:47.420 --> 0:15:49.749 This is home, so I will come back any time 0:15:49.750 --> 0:15:51.630 you ask me to come back. And once again, thank 0:15:51.630 --> 0:15:52.750 you so much for having me. 0:15:52.950 --> 0:15:56.789 No worries at all. But, um. Of course, today, Karen, 0:15:56.790 --> 0:16:00.830 we're here to chat about the upcoming Blind Australian of 0:16:00.830 --> 0:16:04.550 the year awards. So yes, we are. We are. Yeah. 0:16:04.590 --> 0:16:06.950 Very exciting. Could you give us a bit of an 0:16:06.950 --> 0:16:09.910 overview of the awards for our listeners out there? 0:16:10.590 --> 0:16:11.389 Absolutely. 0:16:11.510 --> 0:16:15.070 It's basically a night where we celebrate high achieving Australians 0:16:15.070 --> 0:16:18.190 that live with blindness. And as a blind person myself, 0:16:18.190 --> 0:16:20.830 it's just an incredible feeling to be in a room 0:16:20.830 --> 0:16:23.590 around such incredible talent. And, you know, you sort of 0:16:23.630 --> 0:16:27.029 feel so empowered because growing up as a blind person, 0:16:27.030 --> 0:16:29.150 I never knew that things like this existed. You know, 0:16:29.190 --> 0:16:31.190 we didn't know a lot of blind people. And now 0:16:31.190 --> 0:16:34.790 to be in a room where we're celebrating blind excellence 0:16:34.790 --> 0:16:37.350 from all across the country is just it's like a 0:16:37.350 --> 0:16:39.950 pinch me moment. Sometimes you sort of look around like, wow, 0:16:39.990 --> 0:16:41.990 this person has done this. You look to the right, wow, 0:16:41.990 --> 0:16:43.270 this person has done that. 0:16:43.470 --> 0:16:46.269 And, um, tell us a bit about your involvement in 0:16:46.270 --> 0:16:49.160 the event. You're quite central to Central to the proceedings. 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:50.600 You've got a lot on your plate there. 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:54.440 I'm going to be the emcee, so I will do 0:16:54.479 --> 0:16:58.040 my best to do these guys justice, because it's going 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.200 to be an incredible event and I just hope that 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:03.200 I can live up to it. But that's the plan is, 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:05.040 I think what I'm going to love the most about 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.480 this is that I can make blind jokes, and the 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:10.080 blind people will get it and we'll all laugh together. 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:11.880 So I'm really looking forward to that. I've got all 0:17:11.879 --> 0:17:15.760 my dad jokes lined up that are blind related, so 0:17:15.879 --> 0:17:16.999 I will be on a roll. 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:21.360 Well sounds fantastic. And could you give us some of 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:24.880 those details for people out there where and when the 0:17:24.879 --> 0:17:26.200 awards will be happening? 0:17:26.919 --> 0:17:29.040 Absolutely. So the awards are going to be held in 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:34.240 Brisbane on Saturday the 26th of October at the Moura Hotel. 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:36.560 So that's not too far from here. I mean, not 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:38.759 too long now. It's like less than two weeks, if 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.920 I'm not mistaken. There will be a red carpet meet 0:17:41.919 --> 0:17:45.520 and greet with two time Big Brother winner Reggie Sorensen. 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:48.689 And of course, we've got the incredible Rachael Leahcar, who's 0:17:48.730 --> 0:17:51.250 a good friend of mine and probably one of the 0:17:51.530 --> 0:17:55.090 best singers out there who will be performing live. So 0:17:55.090 --> 0:17:57.810 we've got this little red carpet thing happening before the 0:17:57.810 --> 0:18:01.290 awards at about 6:00. And then seven is when the 0:18:01.290 --> 0:18:05.130 formal proceedings start and there'll be dinner, drinks, dancing and 0:18:05.129 --> 0:18:06.170 a lot of networking. 0:18:06.690 --> 0:18:10.250 Oh, wonderful. And how are you feeling about the flight 0:18:10.290 --> 0:18:13.210 up to Brisbane? Is that something you're looking forward to? 0:18:13.250 --> 0:18:15.530 What sort of a flyer are you? 0:18:15.570 --> 0:18:18.129 What sort of a flyer am I? Yeah. Well, I 0:18:18.169 --> 0:18:19.930 you know, this is a funny thing because a lot 0:18:19.930 --> 0:18:23.570 of blind people have complained to me about Qantas, whereas 0:18:23.570 --> 0:18:26.889 I actually find Qantas the best airline. As a blind person, 0:18:26.889 --> 0:18:29.330 I just feel like their staff are really, really nice. 0:18:29.330 --> 0:18:32.050 They're so well trained. And, you know, if there's something 0:18:32.050 --> 0:18:35.129 that happens where they've messed up, they will go above 0:18:35.129 --> 0:18:38.970 and beyond to fix it. So traveling is not I mean, 0:18:39.010 --> 0:18:41.330 in my role as a speaker, I do travel a lot, 0:18:41.369 --> 0:18:43.530 like just just this year I've sort of been all 0:18:43.530 --> 0:18:46.090 over the country. Last week I was in Canberra, the 0:18:46.090 --> 0:18:48.100 week before I was in Darwin. Before that I was 0:18:48.100 --> 0:18:51.580 in Sydney. So I'm traveling a lot by myself, and 0:18:51.580 --> 0:18:53.940 I love Qantas because I feel like they take really 0:18:53.940 --> 0:18:55.580 good care of me. And no, they did not pay 0:18:55.580 --> 0:18:56.379 me to say this. 0:18:56.700 --> 0:19:00.139 All right. That's very important for people out there. This 0:19:00.139 --> 0:19:02.899 isn't a paid message, so please don't yell at us. 0:19:02.940 --> 0:19:04.580 Not at all. Not at all. I'd love for it 0:19:04.580 --> 0:19:06.300 to be a paid message, but no, it's not. 0:19:06.419 --> 0:19:09.859 No, unfortunately. But that's that's great to hear because I 0:19:09.899 --> 0:19:14.020 have had discussions with people about, you know, they've been 0:19:14.020 --> 0:19:17.140 booking a flight and they get to the end and 0:19:17.139 --> 0:19:20.459 they say, oh, look, I need various bits and pieces. 0:19:20.500 --> 0:19:22.899 They tick the box to say, yes, I am blind 0:19:22.899 --> 0:19:25.820 or I have low vision. So, you know, can we 0:19:25.859 --> 0:19:29.259 sort something out? And then there's like a little box 0:19:29.260 --> 0:19:32.740 that pops up and says, we cannot accommodate this, and 0:19:32.740 --> 0:19:35.500 this flight may not be able to suit your needs 0:19:35.820 --> 0:19:38.460 and blah, blah, blah. And then it kicks them off 0:19:38.460 --> 0:19:41.580 the page or something, and then they aren't sure if 0:19:41.580 --> 0:19:44.580 they've actually like, the flight's gone through or not. 0:19:44.869 --> 0:19:48.189 Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. Traveling alone as a blind 0:19:48.190 --> 0:19:51.830 person can be quite exhausting. Because, yes, I'm using my 0:19:51.830 --> 0:19:54.350 cane to be as independent as I can be. And 0:19:54.350 --> 0:19:55.869 I don't know why I do this, but even if 0:19:55.869 --> 0:19:57.710 someone offers me help, I'm like, no, no, no, I'm 0:19:57.710 --> 0:19:59.629 okay with my cane. I like to be as independent. 0:19:59.629 --> 0:20:01.869 But what that does is by the end of the trip, 0:20:01.869 --> 0:20:05.189 I'm so exhausted because my eyes have overstrained to the 0:20:05.190 --> 0:20:07.429 point where I just want to sleep for days now. 0:20:07.830 --> 0:20:10.550 But Brisbane will be different because I'm flying there with 0:20:10.550 --> 0:20:11.790 my husband, David. 0:20:12.030 --> 0:20:12.590 Oh, lovely. 0:20:12.950 --> 0:20:16.190 Yeah, yeah, so super excited. Yeah. His family actually lives 0:20:16.190 --> 0:20:17.830 in Brisbane, so it's going to be a good chance 0:20:17.830 --> 0:20:18.830 to catch up with them as well. 0:20:18.869 --> 0:20:21.390 Oh, that'll be wonderful. And you know, people out there 0:20:21.389 --> 0:20:23.590 might be thinking hang on. I thought we were talking 0:20:23.590 --> 0:20:26.029 about the Blind Australian of the year awards. What the 0:20:26.030 --> 0:20:28.190 hell are they going on about? They're talking about, you know, 0:20:28.230 --> 0:20:31.230 planes and travelling. But there's a very good reason, Karen, 0:20:31.230 --> 0:20:33.710 that we are talking about this sort of thing. And 0:20:33.710 --> 0:20:37.670 it's just a nice dovetail into your advocacy work. So, 0:20:37.710 --> 0:20:39.469 I mean, tell us a bit about that. Give us 0:20:39.470 --> 0:20:41.790 a bit of a highlight package. There's been quite a 0:20:41.790 --> 0:20:43.750 few things happening in that space. 0:20:44.649 --> 0:20:48.129 Look, there's been so much happening. I feel so blessed sometimes. 0:20:48.609 --> 0:20:50.609 There have been times I've actually pinched myself, you know, 0:20:50.649 --> 0:20:52.810 because people find it funny. Because they say, oh, you're 0:20:52.810 --> 0:20:55.050 so happy for a blind guy. And I actually say, 0:20:55.090 --> 0:20:57.450 you know, other than being blind, I have no complaints 0:20:57.450 --> 0:20:59.810 because life has been really kind to me when it 0:20:59.810 --> 0:21:03.370 comes to work. You know, I've traveled all around Australia 0:21:03.369 --> 0:21:06.649 to talk as a keynote speaker about my lived experience, 0:21:06.690 --> 0:21:09.530 and my style of raising awareness is quite different. I 0:21:09.530 --> 0:21:12.450 use a lot of humor because I feel like disability 0:21:12.450 --> 0:21:15.530 can be a heavy subject sometimes for people, so I 0:21:15.530 --> 0:21:18.210 feel like if I talk about it and, you know, 0:21:18.250 --> 0:21:21.570 add some humor to it, it lightens the mood. And 0:21:21.570 --> 0:21:25.170 the best thing about speaking at events are honestly the 0:21:25.169 --> 0:21:28.009 candid conversations that happen after, which is when I've spoken 0:21:28.010 --> 0:21:29.650 and people come up to me one by one and, 0:21:29.649 --> 0:21:32.090 you know, say, you know, I know someone who's living 0:21:32.090 --> 0:21:34.210 with this condition and thank you for sharing that. Or 0:21:34.210 --> 0:21:36.409 I didn't know this, and you just told me about 0:21:36.409 --> 0:21:38.890 this today and this is fantastic. So that is one 0:21:38.889 --> 0:21:41.369 thing that I love doing. I guess other than that 0:21:41.369 --> 0:21:44.340 I've been doing my usual thing that's, you know, that 0:21:44.340 --> 0:21:47.179 led to everything which is creating content on social media. 0:21:47.180 --> 0:21:49.259 And there was this list that came out recently, and 0:21:49.260 --> 0:21:51.820 I didn't even know a thing like this existed. And 0:21:51.820 --> 0:21:54.220 normally if someone called me an influencer, I would honestly 0:21:54.260 --> 0:21:56.940 throw up because I hate that word. And I there's 0:21:56.940 --> 0:21:59.739 a lot of negative connotation where influencers are concerned, but 0:21:59.740 --> 0:22:02.260 there was a list that was released with the top 0:22:02.260 --> 0:22:05.660 40 blind influencers around the world, and I'm number 29. 0:22:05.659 --> 0:22:08.100 And I was like, whoa! And I think I'm the 0:22:08.100 --> 0:22:10.540 only one from Australia on there. So that was quite 0:22:10.580 --> 0:22:14.420 a quite in my head, quite an achievement because here 0:22:14.419 --> 0:22:17.740 I'm thinking, you know, no one's really, you know, because 0:22:17.740 --> 0:22:19.940 when you're putting when you're putting content out there on 0:22:19.940 --> 0:22:22.260 a daily basis, you sometimes start to think, oh, people 0:22:22.260 --> 0:22:24.180 are going to get bored, or, you know, how many 0:22:24.180 --> 0:22:26.180 times can you say the same thing about blindness being 0:22:26.180 --> 0:22:28.020 a spectrum? But then when lists like that come out, 0:22:28.020 --> 0:22:30.020 it makes you feel like, okay, so there are people 0:22:30.020 --> 0:22:31.179 that are listening out there. 0:22:31.340 --> 0:22:36.380 That's a huge achievement. I definitely would agree with that wholeheartedly. But, um, 0:22:36.379 --> 0:22:39.859 you mentioned in there the content creation and people might 0:22:39.859 --> 0:22:42.950 be really interested to hear here about the fact that 0:22:42.950 --> 0:22:45.869 you're a graphic designer and you're doing that with your 0:22:45.869 --> 0:22:49.710 lived experience of blindness, and people might just their head 0:22:49.750 --> 0:22:52.070 might be spinning and thinking, wait, how the hell does 0:22:52.070 --> 0:22:53.429 that work? So yeah. 0:22:53.710 --> 0:22:56.190 It's definitely a head scratcher. I get a lot of 0:22:56.190 --> 0:22:59.790 strange looks when I tell people I'm a graphic designer. So, Sam, 0:22:59.790 --> 0:23:03.510 I was born with Usher Syndrome, which is a degenerative condition, 0:23:03.510 --> 0:23:06.030 as you would know. So I was born with normal sight. 0:23:06.030 --> 0:23:10.190 And whilst my sight was still normal, I studied filmmaking, 0:23:10.190 --> 0:23:14.030 graphic design, marketing, public relations and all of that. So 0:23:14.070 --> 0:23:17.590 whilst I could see I did all of that professionally, 0:23:17.590 --> 0:23:20.310 but then a stage came where my sight had deteriorated 0:23:20.310 --> 0:23:23.469 so rapidly that I could no longer do that professionally. 0:23:23.470 --> 0:23:25.590 So I said, you know, I just sort of basically 0:23:25.590 --> 0:23:28.949 said to myself, instead of wasting those skills, why not 0:23:28.950 --> 0:23:31.869 use it now to create content, to let people know 0:23:31.869 --> 0:23:34.630 what it is that blind people see? So that's how 0:23:34.629 --> 0:23:37.270 it started. And that is when my heart's full of 0:23:37.270 --> 0:23:38.990 pride and joy. You know, when I look at my 0:23:38.990 --> 0:23:42.560 content out there and people can't believe it's not. This 0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:45.399 is pretty good for a blind guy. It's. Whoa! I 0:23:45.440 --> 0:23:47.040 can't believe a blind guy made this. 0:23:47.440 --> 0:23:48.160 Exactly. 0:23:48.520 --> 0:23:50.080 And that's what gives me a high. And I love. 0:23:50.080 --> 0:23:54.159 It. Yeah. No, it's definitely something to really be so 0:23:54.159 --> 0:23:56.440 proud of. Thank you. But, you know, how do you 0:23:56.480 --> 0:24:01.680 deal with all those comments, those backhanded compliments when people go, oh, 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:05.239 you know, that's pretty this and that for a blind guy. 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:06.800 Dot dot dot. Like hello. 0:24:07.000 --> 0:24:10.119 Yeah, yeah. Look, if there's one thing I've learned, it's 0:24:10.119 --> 0:24:12.639 to pick your battles. Yeah. If I'm having a good 0:24:12.639 --> 0:24:16.240 day and I'm feeling really confident, I will not fight back, 0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:18.640 but I will sort of clap back and be like, okay, 0:24:18.639 --> 0:24:21.000 that's just ignorant, because, you know, this, this, this, this, this. 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:24.840 But there are days where I am quite tired. You know, 0:24:24.840 --> 0:24:27.479 there are days where, of course, I'm a human being. 0:24:27.480 --> 0:24:29.960 My deteriorating eyesight is going to get to me. That's 0:24:29.960 --> 0:24:31.520 when I'm like, you know what? I'm just not going 0:24:31.560 --> 0:24:34.240 to respond. Or what I do is I disable comments 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:37.680 because I don't have the energy that day to respond 0:24:37.680 --> 0:24:39.810 to the comments. So you've got to pick your pick 0:24:39.810 --> 0:24:41.330 your battles. It's on a on a day to day 0:24:41.330 --> 0:24:43.689 basis for me, but by and large I try and 0:24:43.690 --> 0:24:44.649 tackle them head on. 0:24:44.850 --> 0:24:47.770 Yes. Oh it is, you know, definitely something a lot 0:24:47.770 --> 0:24:50.370 of people out there I'm sure can relate to. It 0:24:50.369 --> 0:24:53.330 is quite exhausting on a daily basis to be at 0:24:53.330 --> 0:24:56.050 the front line, dealing with all of that sort of thing, 0:24:56.050 --> 0:24:59.450 especially when you're such a public figure as you are. 0:24:59.889 --> 0:25:05.050 Not everybody's, you know, top 40 Blonde influencer of the year. But, 0:25:05.090 --> 0:25:07.609 you know, there's definitely a lot of things for people 0:25:07.609 --> 0:25:09.210 to relate to there. 0:25:09.250 --> 0:25:11.689 Also, another thing that I've learned is the way you 0:25:11.690 --> 0:25:15.250 respond back makes a big difference. So if someone's angry 0:25:15.369 --> 0:25:18.930 and you're angry in return, it doesn't solve anything. So 0:25:18.930 --> 0:25:22.170 if someone said something really nasty about me, I will 0:25:22.169 --> 0:25:24.810 respond with a lot of kindness and I'll be like, 0:25:24.850 --> 0:25:26.609 you know, I'm so glad you brought this up because, 0:25:26.609 --> 0:25:28.609 you know, so many people think that, but that's actually 0:25:28.609 --> 0:25:30.369 not true. Then I go on and on and on, 0:25:30.369 --> 0:25:32.850 and then, you know, they actually melt and they respond 0:25:32.850 --> 0:25:35.490 in a positive manner. I'm not a perfect human being. 0:25:35.530 --> 0:25:37.129 There have been times when I'm in a really bad 0:25:37.129 --> 0:25:39.220 mood and someone said something really awful and awful, and 0:25:39.220 --> 0:25:42.139 I've just gone right back at them and that's gone nowhere. 0:25:42.300 --> 0:25:43.940 And so this is one thing that I've learned, and 0:25:43.940 --> 0:25:45.940 this is why I sort of said to myself, okay, 0:25:46.180 --> 0:25:49.100 if you can't respond in a nice manner, no matter 0:25:49.100 --> 0:25:51.740 how awful the other person is, disable the comments or 0:25:51.740 --> 0:25:53.220 don't do it today. Do it tomorrow. 0:25:53.419 --> 0:25:57.659 Yeah. No, that's very important messages there. But yeah, we're 0:25:57.659 --> 0:26:01.539 very excited to hear how the Blind Australian of the 0:26:01.540 --> 0:26:04.300 year awards go. And a lot of people can look 0:26:04.300 --> 0:26:08.500 forward to seeing you up on the stage as the emcee. 0:26:08.540 --> 0:26:12.380 So that of course. Yeah. That's, um, that's coming up. 0:26:12.379 --> 0:26:14.300 I just need to say that tickets are selling out 0:26:14.340 --> 0:26:16.900 quite quick. I think that's what the CEO Terry, said 0:26:16.940 --> 0:26:19.820 to me. So if you are looking at booking because 0:26:19.820 --> 0:26:22.459 they've got corporate tables as well, and tables are limited 0:26:22.460 --> 0:26:25.260 because there's limited seating. So if you're looking for I 0:26:25.260 --> 0:26:29.060 think the tables go for 990 for a table of ten, 0:26:29.060 --> 0:26:32.580 and the tickets start at $75. For people that are 0:26:32.580 --> 0:26:35.260 companions or hold a concession card. And if you're looking 0:26:35.260 --> 0:26:39.480 for tickets, please go to Blind Australian of the year. Com.au. 0:26:39.840 --> 0:26:44.760 Perfect. That's blind. Australian of the year. Com.au. If you're 0:26:44.760 --> 0:26:47.800 looking for tickets or you'd just like to find out 0:26:47.840 --> 0:26:51.200 a little bit more about the Blind Australian of the 0:26:51.200 --> 0:26:57.040 Year Awards, I've been speaking today with Karen Nagrani, emcee 0:26:57.080 --> 0:27:00.959 for the Blind Australian of the Year awards, coming up 0:27:00.960 --> 0:27:05.840 in Brisbane on the 26th of October. Karen, thank you 0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:08.600 so much for your time today. Always great to chat 0:27:08.600 --> 0:27:11.960 with you and all the best on the 26th. 0:27:12.440 --> 0:27:12.920 Thank you. 0:27:12.960 --> 0:27:16.280 Sam. And once again, thank you for pronouncing my name right. 0:27:16.320 --> 0:27:17.200 No problem at all. 0:27:17.240 --> 0:27:19.679 Appreciate it. It's quite rare. So when you did it 0:27:19.680 --> 0:27:21.720 I was like, oh, good on you, Sam. 0:27:22.240 --> 0:27:25.200 Oh, it's very important. You know, get people's name, right, 0:27:25.200 --> 0:27:25.639 I think. 0:27:25.680 --> 0:27:27.359 Yeah. Yeah, sure. Thank you. 0:27:27.359 --> 0:27:28.560 So much. Thanks for having me. 0:27:35.960 --> 0:27:38.449 And that's all the time we have for this week 0:27:38.450 --> 0:27:43.170 on this special Christmas episode of Talking Vision. Thank you, 0:27:43.169 --> 0:27:47.169 as always, to everybody involved in putting the show together. 0:27:47.250 --> 0:27:51.010 And remember, we love hearing from you. So please feel 0:27:51.010 --> 0:27:55.250 free to get in touch anytime on Talking Vision at 0:27:55.250 --> 0:28:02.730 Vision Australia. Org. That's talking Vision Australia. But until next 0:28:02.730 --> 0:28:06.970 year it's Sam Colley here. Wishing you all a very 0:28:06.970 --> 0:28:12.570 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 0:28:13.810 --> 0:28:17.810 You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during 0:28:17.810 --> 0:28:26.770 business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 7486 0:28:26.770 --> 0:28:34.850 or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision australia.org.