WEBVTT - Talking Vision 691 Week Beginning 28th of August 2023 0:00:38.450 --> 0:00:44.150 From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's 0:00:44.150 --> 0:00:46.160 your host, Sam Colley. 0:00:48.670 --> 0:00:51.790 Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And 0:00:51.790 --> 0:00:54.760 for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:55.840 and low vision. 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.050 One of the members said, look, you know what? With 0:00:59.050 --> 0:01:02.190 our mobility and orientation training and so forth, you know, 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.440 we're pretty comfortable or confident being able to get to 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:07.660 a tram stop and navigate around a tram stop. There's 0:01:07.660 --> 0:01:11.140 no issue there. What our biggest problem is, is knowing 0:01:11.140 --> 0:01:13.960 where the approaching tram is travelling to. 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.140 Welcome to the program. If you live in Melbourne and 0:01:17.140 --> 0:01:20.170 you're a frequent tram user, our next guest has some 0:01:20.170 --> 0:01:23.980 potentially exciting news for you. His name is Wayne and 0:01:23.980 --> 0:01:26.440 he's here to chat to us all about a new 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.290 app designed to help passengers who are blind or have 0:01:29.290 --> 0:01:33.160 low vision navigate around the Melbourne Tram Network more safely 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:37.330 and accessibly. That interview is coming up right around the corner. 0:01:37.330 --> 0:01:40.600 But after we hear from Wayne, we catch up with 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:45.130 Sally Andrews, the CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, to have 0:01:45.130 --> 0:01:48.850 a look back over her past six years at BCA 0:01:48.850 --> 0:01:52.900 as she moves on to an exciting new academic opportunity. 0:01:53.140 --> 0:01:57.040 I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.420 This week we kick off the show by chatting to 0:02:04.420 --> 0:02:09.010 Wayne Speers from Yarra Trams about the New Netherlands app, 0:02:09.010 --> 0:02:12.790 which is currently undergoing the trial phase over the Melbourne 0:02:12.790 --> 0:02:17.410 Tram Network. I began by asking Wayne about Netherlands and 0:02:17.410 --> 0:02:18.790 what the app was all about. 0:02:19.060 --> 0:02:24.250 Okay, so navigations originated in Spain. The company that's developed 0:02:24.250 --> 0:02:28.030 it is a Spanish company and it has been developed 0:02:28.030 --> 0:02:31.600 primarily to assist people who are blind or people who 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:35.140 have low vision to be able to navigate from A 0:02:35.170 --> 0:02:38.350 to B. So, for instance, if somebody is at a 0:02:38.350 --> 0:02:42.520 transport interchange and they need to get from the front 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:47.380 door to platform eight through a series of, we'll call them, 0:02:47.380 --> 0:02:51.940 Rubik's Cube looking codes, but they're augmented QR codes essentially, 0:02:51.940 --> 0:02:55.690 and that in combination with an app on the user's 0:02:55.690 --> 0:03:01.810 smartphone that allows for discreet way of wayfinding. So as 0:03:01.810 --> 0:03:05.800 the phone recognizes a code in its field of vision, 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:09.250 it would be able to give information to the user 0:03:09.250 --> 0:03:13.630 to say, for instance, ten meters away, there's an escalator 0:03:13.630 --> 0:03:18.130 that goes up to the departure platforms or continue straight 0:03:18.130 --> 0:03:22.150 ahead to the ticketing office, something like that. So it 0:03:22.150 --> 0:03:26.620 was essentially designed as a wayfinding solution to assist people 0:03:26.620 --> 0:03:29.140 with low vision and those who are blind to be 0:03:29.140 --> 0:03:29.860 able to get around. 0:03:29.980 --> 0:03:33.160 And how did that come to Yarra Trams attention? What's 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.870 the story behind that and how that all kicked off? 0:03:35.890 --> 0:03:39.490 So Yarra Trams is operated by the careless Downer business 0:03:39.490 --> 0:03:43.840 owner franchise to the Victorian Government and Careless is one 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.530 of the world's largest public transport operators and they're headquartered 0:03:47.530 --> 0:03:52.810 in France. With that international connection, we became aware of 0:03:52.810 --> 0:03:55.870 a trial that they were doing some time ago, about 0:03:55.870 --> 0:03:58.660 three years ago, I think it was in Versailles, doing 0:03:58.660 --> 0:04:01.930 the wayfinding opportunity at the Versailles. I think it was 0:04:01.930 --> 0:04:05.080 a bus and train interchange and we threw our connections 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:07.240 at this, became aware of this and thought, Geez, that 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:11.710 would be something worth investigating and looking into for wayfinding 0:04:11.710 --> 0:04:14.950 to assist people getting to and from tram stops. And 0:04:14.950 --> 0:04:16.900 so that's how that idea was born. 0:04:17.140 --> 0:04:21.100 And in terms of how the Netherlands app would be 0:04:21.100 --> 0:04:25.390 working in practice over the tram network, what sort of 0:04:25.390 --> 0:04:29.590 routes and stops can people expect to be able to 0:04:29.590 --> 0:04:30.800 use the app? 0:04:30.820 --> 0:04:36.190 So one really exciting thing, which is how we're implementing 0:04:36.190 --> 0:04:39.820 the navigation system as the trial is not so much 0:04:39.820 --> 0:04:42.160 wayfinding to get from point A to point B, but 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:47.050 it's part of enhancing the opportunity of getting information for 0:04:47.050 --> 0:04:51.940 real time, tram information at tram stops and also on 0:04:51.940 --> 0:04:56.500 the trams. So this is not something that's been done 0:04:56.500 --> 0:04:58.180 a great deal around the world. So we're one of 0:04:58.180 --> 0:05:01.540 the first operators to do that, certainly the first public 0:05:01.540 --> 0:05:04.870 transport operator in Australia to do it with nav lines 0:05:04.870 --> 0:05:09.370 and for the user it will allow them to be 0:05:09.370 --> 0:05:11.860 at a tram stop and with the code at the 0:05:11.860 --> 0:05:14.920 tram stop, be able to find out when the next 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:18.400 tram is coming in terms of waiting time where the 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:21.040 next tram is travelling to, and also whether it's a 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:24.850 low floor tram. So that way for the purposes of accessibility, 0:05:24.850 --> 0:05:28.960 getting onto a tram, being able to prepare for steps 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.270 or just be able to walk across from the platform 0:05:31.270 --> 0:05:33.460 or take a step up and so on. We're trialling 0:05:33.460 --> 0:05:36.640 it on all of the Route 96 stops. So that's 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.610 all the way from East Brunswick down through to Saint Kilda, 0:05:39.610 --> 0:05:43.750 and we're trialling it on every E-Class Tram and C 0:05:43.750 --> 0:05:47.200 two class trams. So the A-class trams operate not only 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:52.420 the 96 route, but they also operate the 8611 to 58. 0:05:52.420 --> 0:05:56.260 And that means that as the trams are travelling around 0:05:56.260 --> 0:05:59.560 the network, even though the tram might not be on 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:03.790 a Route 96, it will still have the real time 0:06:03.790 --> 0:06:09.010 information available to people on that tram for the route 0:06:09.010 --> 0:06:12.880 that they're travelling on and for the Route 96 stops. 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:16.270 If the tram stop is a shared tram stop. So 0:06:16.270 --> 0:06:19.420 for instance, the one at Luna Park down near Saint Kilda, 0:06:19.420 --> 0:06:22.120 that's a tram stop that's shared with both the Route 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.690 96 and the Route 16. So if someone's waiting at 0:06:25.690 --> 0:06:27.910 the tram stop, it will give them the information for 0:06:27.910 --> 0:06:31.510 the next arriving tram, even though it might not be 0:06:31.510 --> 0:06:33.730 about 96. So it would be the next tram is 0:06:33.730 --> 0:06:37.990 about 16 headed to headed to Melbourne University due in 0:06:37.990 --> 0:06:41.170 three minutes. It's a low floor tram so that way 0:06:41.170 --> 0:06:42.760 the person knows that the next tram is going to 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:45.580 be around 16 and then once that trams departed, the 0:06:45.580 --> 0:06:47.590 next tram would be announced after that. 0:06:47.860 --> 0:06:49.480 Oh, that's a fantastic thing. 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:50.440 Yeah, it. 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:54.790 Is. And the excitement for this, it really does generate 0:06:54.790 --> 0:06:57.340 a lot of interest with people, not only from our 0:06:57.340 --> 0:07:01.860 accessibility reference group members and also members of the. Public 0:07:01.860 --> 0:07:05.130 that we invited on initial tests, but also people that 0:07:05.130 --> 0:07:09.750 we've been talking about, this technology that really beaming smiles 0:07:09.750 --> 0:07:12.000 is the best way to describe the response when we're 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:13.800 telling people and sharing about this trial. 0:07:13.950 --> 0:07:17.070 Great to hear. Has had a wonderful response. But in 0:07:17.070 --> 0:07:19.830 the past, had you had feedback from the Blind and 0:07:19.830 --> 0:07:24.240 Low Vision community to Yarra Trams with particular issues around 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:28.620 navigation or perhaps needing more accessible information? And that was 0:07:28.620 --> 0:07:32.860 sort of some of the motivation behind getting involved with Netherlands. 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:37.140 We have we've certainly been getting feedback from our passengers 0:07:37.140 --> 0:07:40.950 through our regular feedback channel, which can be made through 0:07:40.950 --> 0:07:44.880 PTV or through our online access, but we also have 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.210 our accessibility reference group. And the reference group is made 0:07:48.210 --> 0:07:52.560 up of members from organizations that are advocates or community 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:56.730 groups for people with disability or accessibility needs, such as Aspect, 0:07:56.730 --> 0:08:01.470 which is autism Spectrum Australia, also Blind Citizens Australia Vision 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:06.020 Australia certainly guide Dogs Victoria. So all of these organisations, 0:08:06.020 --> 0:08:08.960 we have representatives as part of a regular group that 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:10.910 we meet up a few times a year. And also 0:08:11.150 --> 0:08:14.570 as I said, the feedback from passengers helps us understand 0:08:14.570 --> 0:08:19.670 more the needs and changing requirements of people with disability 0:08:19.670 --> 0:08:24.530 or accessibility needs. Plus, we're also guided with the disability 0:08:24.530 --> 0:08:28.430 standards for accessible public transport and looking at ways that 0:08:28.430 --> 0:08:32.330 we're able to improve the travel experience for people as 0:08:32.330 --> 0:08:35.990 they need. So when we started this program right from 0:08:35.990 --> 0:08:38.510 the onset, we wanted to make sure that members from 0:08:38.510 --> 0:08:42.230 our accessibility reference group were included on that journey. So 0:08:42.230 --> 0:08:44.660 we had a lot of discussion around the scope of 0:08:44.660 --> 0:08:46.760 what we were thinking of doing for the trial. And 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.240 initially we were pretty much on the idea that it 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:52.700 would be helping people get from A to B in 0:08:52.700 --> 0:08:56.480 terms of finding their way to a tram stop. And 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.750 through the process of our discussions with members from the 0:08:59.750 --> 0:09:03.510 Accessibility Reference Group, we were politely challenged in a really 0:09:03.510 --> 0:09:06.810 nice way where one of the members said, Look, you 0:09:06.810 --> 0:09:10.890 know what, with our mobility and orientation training and so forth, 0:09:10.890 --> 0:09:13.680 you know, we're pretty comfortable or confident being able to 0:09:13.680 --> 0:09:16.410 get to a tram stop and navigate around a tram stop. 0:09:16.410 --> 0:09:19.320 There's no issue there. What our biggest problem is, is 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:23.550 knowing where the approaching tram is travelling to. In that 0:09:23.550 --> 0:09:28.140 conversation with that simple statement, we actually flipped on its 0:09:28.140 --> 0:09:31.650 head our rollout strategy for what we thought Netherlands would 0:09:31.650 --> 0:09:35.460 be useful for. We did initially think that the live 0:09:35.460 --> 0:09:38.910 tram tracking information would be helpful, but it was going 0:09:38.910 --> 0:09:41.850 to be a little bit further down the implementation timeline. 0:09:41.850 --> 0:09:45.180 So we flipped it and we've actually started now with 0:09:45.180 --> 0:09:49.260 the real tram tracking, real time information for people waiting 0:09:49.260 --> 0:09:51.660 at a tram stop and people when they're on a tram, 0:09:51.660 --> 0:09:55.080 that's all based from the interactions that we've had with 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.200 with our accessibility reference group team members getting their feedback 0:09:58.200 --> 0:09:59.370 on board for this rollout. 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.640 That's super important feedback, and I'm really glad to hear 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:05.790 that you've had that positive interaction. Then There's been a 0:10:05.790 --> 0:10:09.600 lot of benefits from both sides there. Now as the 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.780 app rolls out and people join up and, you know, 0:10:12.780 --> 0:10:16.740 participate in the trial, what's the best way for people 0:10:16.740 --> 0:10:20.250 to access the Netherlands app? How can they get their 0:10:20.250 --> 0:10:20.970 hands on it? 0:10:21.210 --> 0:10:24.000 First of all, it's a free service or free app, 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.630 so there's no payment required for it. And using the 0:10:27.630 --> 0:10:30.990 app is really very simple. There's a lot of features 0:10:30.990 --> 0:10:33.900 within the app itself. And as people like most apps, 0:10:33.900 --> 0:10:37.260 as people get used to using it, those features become 0:10:37.260 --> 0:10:42.150 more noticeable. However, the app can be downloaded from the 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:46.680 Android play store and also from the Apple store. And 0:10:46.680 --> 0:10:50.580 there's two different apps available from Navy Lens. The first 0:10:50.580 --> 0:10:54.450 one is nav lens, just the word nav lens. And 0:10:54.450 --> 0:10:57.750 this is for people who would need the information to 0:10:57.750 --> 0:11:00.990 be provided in an audible format. The other app is 0:11:00.990 --> 0:11:04.380 called Lens Go, and this is a little bit more 0:11:04.380 --> 0:11:08.970 of a multimedia type interaction. It still provides the same information, 0:11:08.970 --> 0:11:11.760 but the only thing that it doesn't provide for the 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:16.020 information in real time is that audible ability. So people, 0:11:16.020 --> 0:11:19.530 for instance, who might have English as a second language 0:11:19.530 --> 0:11:21.390 and they're not confident with it, they can use Navy 0:11:21.390 --> 0:11:25.020 lens or Navy lens go because it will use the 0:11:25.020 --> 0:11:28.650 default settings of your phone and the language setting to 0:11:28.650 --> 0:11:32.580 translate what appears in English to whatever the default language 0:11:32.580 --> 0:11:35.310 is on that phone. And it's about 32 different languages 0:11:35.310 --> 0:11:37.890 that it can translate it to. But for people with 0:11:37.890 --> 0:11:40.530 low vision or who are blind, the Lens app is 0:11:40.530 --> 0:11:43.170 the one that you would want to have that audible 0:11:43.170 --> 0:11:45.960 information from the tram stops that we've got. 0:11:46.260 --> 0:11:49.560 That's a great little feature with the 32 languages there. 0:11:49.560 --> 0:11:50.520 That's yeah. 0:11:50.670 --> 0:11:54.270 That's, that's an amazing little bonus for the range of 0:11:54.270 --> 0:11:58.560 communities around Melbourne with different languages and cultures. So that's 0:11:58.560 --> 0:12:03.600 fantastic to hear. That's inclusive in. What a few ways. Now, understand, 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.750 the trial has been going for a little while now. 0:12:06.750 --> 0:12:09.120 How's the trial been going so far and what sort 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:11.130 of observations have you had? 0:12:11.340 --> 0:12:14.700 So with the trial, we actually had it sort of 0:12:14.700 --> 0:12:16.770 delayed just by a couple of weeks while we fine 0:12:16.770 --> 0:12:20.100 tuned some of the information that was coming back from 0:12:20.100 --> 0:12:23.430 the tram tracker system into nearby lanes. So we actually 0:12:23.430 --> 0:12:26.770 started the trial. It was launched on the 14th of 0:12:26.770 --> 0:12:30.720 August by the Minister of Public Transport, Ben Carroll, and 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:35.220 he installed the commemorative plaque. It stopped nine at the 0:12:35.220 --> 0:12:37.920 top of Bourke Street and Spring Street, and that was 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:40.950 really exciting to see that. But the trial itself, with 0:12:40.950 --> 0:12:45.090 the real time information, we started that on Monday, so 0:12:45.090 --> 0:12:48.870 that was the 21st of August and in the first 0:12:48.870 --> 0:12:52.500 three hours and this is without any PR or advertising 0:12:52.500 --> 0:12:55.260 or anything like that, in the first three hours of 0:12:55.260 --> 0:12:59.400 installing those codes, one of the codes at Stop one, 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:01.440 I think it was down at the corner of Spencer 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:03.480 and Bourke Street in the first three hours. It was 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.120 scanned 117 times. 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:07.680 Oh, my God. Yeah. Wow. 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:11.850 That's incredible. That's very exciting to hear. People are just 0:13:11.850 --> 0:13:15.750 really getting around it and really embracing the technology. 0:13:15.750 --> 0:13:20.190 Absolutely. Because the Navy Lens Code needs the Navy lens app. 0:13:20.190 --> 0:13:23.370 If somebody is scanning the code just as they would 0:13:23.370 --> 0:13:27.060 scan a regular QR code, nothing's going to happen. So 0:13:27.060 --> 0:13:31.110 what we've done is we've placed a QR code alongside 0:13:31.110 --> 0:13:34.260 the lens code so that even if the person doesn't 0:13:34.260 --> 0:13:37.350 have the lens app installed, it will recognize the QR 0:13:37.350 --> 0:13:40.320 code and that will then launch people to a web 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:42.870 page which we have on our website and give them 0:13:42.870 --> 0:13:46.350 information about what the product is and also how they 0:13:46.350 --> 0:13:49.680 can download the app. And also they can provide feedback 0:13:49.680 --> 0:13:53.490 on their experience using nav lens and register for regular 0:13:53.490 --> 0:13:57.510 updates on the Netherlands trial itself. So Curiosity is the 0:13:57.510 --> 0:13:59.460 mother of all invention in that? 0:13:59.460 --> 0:14:04.380 Certainly is. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And how can people sign 0:14:04.380 --> 0:14:07.470 up for the Netherlands trial period? What's the best way 0:14:07.470 --> 0:14:08.550 for them to do that? 0:14:08.550 --> 0:14:10.620 The best thing to do is to get out and 0:14:10.620 --> 0:14:12.750 start using the app. And again, it's only on the 0:14:12.750 --> 0:14:17.130 Route 96 stops, but certainly if someone's travelling along the 0:14:17.130 --> 0:14:19.860 Bourke Street corridor in the city, there will be an 0:14:19.860 --> 0:14:23.040 ambulance code on each of those stops. So there's opportunity 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.440 to interact with the system there. If they're not a 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:29.160 regular Route 96 traveller and the way to register for 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.730 the trial, there's no registration needed to use the system. 0:14:32.730 --> 0:14:35.280 But certainly if people want to provide their feedback and 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:38.340 then get those regular updates, you can use the website 0:14:38.340 --> 0:14:43.860 which is Yarra Transcom, dot, forward slash navy lens, and 0:14:43.860 --> 0:14:49.080 that's spelt in a V lens. Or you can contact 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:54.840 the call centre which is one 800 807 and ask 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:58.410 them to assist you with the registration process. If you're 0:14:58.410 --> 0:15:02.160 unable to access the internet or have needs for other means. 0:15:02.340 --> 0:15:06.960 Okay, perfect. I've been speaking today with Wayne Speers from 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:11.760 Yarra Trams, all about the brand new Loveland's app, helping 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.790 people who are blind or have low vision get around 0:15:14.790 --> 0:15:18.780 Melbourne's tram network more safely and accessibly. Wayne, thanks so 0:15:18.780 --> 0:15:20.910 much for your time today. It was great to have 0:15:20.910 --> 0:15:23.460 a chat with you all about the Netherlands app and 0:15:23.460 --> 0:15:26.820 looking forward to hearing about the latest updates in the future. 0:15:27.450 --> 0:15:29.040 Absolutely. Thanks so much, Sam. 0:15:36.300 --> 0:15:39.480 I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:44.520 Vision Australia radio associated stations of RPI and the Community 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:48.390 Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that interview with Wayne 0:15:48.390 --> 0:15:52.380 Speers there. If you missed any part of today's interviews 0:15:52.380 --> 0:15:55.020 or you'd love to hear them again, they will also 0:15:55.020 --> 0:15:58.380 be available on the podcast app of your choice or 0:15:58.380 --> 0:16:01.950 through the Vision Australia Library to listen back any time. 0:16:02.220 --> 0:16:05.340 And now for our second interview. Today I catch up 0:16:05.340 --> 0:16:10.590 with CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, Sally Andrews. Sally will 0:16:10.590 --> 0:16:13.650 be moving on from BCA at the end of September 0:16:13.650 --> 0:16:17.100 as she commences full time study and as a valued 0:16:17.100 --> 0:16:20.220 guest of talking vision over the years. It's my great 0:16:20.220 --> 0:16:23.100 pleasure to catch up with her, to talk about her 0:16:23.100 --> 0:16:27.510 last six years in her various roles at BCA. I 0:16:27.510 --> 0:16:30.720 began by asking Sally to tell us about the most 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.690 treasured memories she's had over that time. 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:36.930 Yeah, there's definitely been a lot happen in the past 0:16:36.930 --> 0:16:41.160 six years, but I think the fondest memories that I 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:44.430 have all relate to the times that I have met 0:16:44.430 --> 0:16:48.090 people and they've expressed to me things that aren't working 0:16:48.090 --> 0:16:51.630 for them or things that are concerning them. And there 0:16:51.630 --> 0:16:54.120 have been plenty of occasions where we've been able to 0:16:54.150 --> 0:16:57.540 hear those concerns and being able to take them to 0:16:57.540 --> 0:17:00.870 the right people and actually start to see some change 0:17:00.870 --> 0:17:05.280 in those areas. It certainly hasn't been something that's happened 100% 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:07.950 of the time, but on the odd occasion that it does, 0:17:07.950 --> 0:17:10.500 and you can be that person to have a hand 0:17:10.500 --> 0:17:13.980 in bringing about some of those big systemic changes. They're 0:17:13.980 --> 0:17:16.020 definitely my my favorite memories. 0:17:16.230 --> 0:17:19.860 And following on from that. Sally, what achievements have you 0:17:19.860 --> 0:17:24.360 been most proud of over that time as CEO of BCA? 0:17:24.360 --> 0:17:27.000 If you want to sort of go into specifics about 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:30.960 some big programs or projects or things that BCA has 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:33.390 been able to achieve over that time, what have you 0:17:33.390 --> 0:17:34.740 been most proud of there? 0:17:34.890 --> 0:17:36.900 I think one of the things that I've enjoyed the 0:17:36.900 --> 0:17:39.600 most and that am the most proud of is the 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:43.530 initiatives that we've been able to begin at BCA and 0:17:43.530 --> 0:17:46.500 also the initiatives that we've been able to to build 0:17:46.500 --> 0:17:49.560 on to make sure that people are getting involved and 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.950 staying connected so that people can come along to things 0:17:52.950 --> 0:17:58.290 like our BCA conversations, BCA inform our Connect events, our 0:17:58.290 --> 0:18:02.700 peer connect groups, our local branches, our special interest branches 0:18:02.700 --> 0:18:05.580 and just being able to meet other people who might 0:18:05.580 --> 0:18:08.010 share an interest or live close by and being able 0:18:08.010 --> 0:18:11.580 to form relationships, getting a little bit more specific. Some 0:18:11.580 --> 0:18:14.070 of the things I'm really proud of most recently are 0:18:14.070 --> 0:18:18.150 working with our board staff and members to formally endorse 0:18:18.180 --> 0:18:21.720 other a statement from the heart and begin work towards 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:26.280 a reconciliation action plan. And I'm also really proud of 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:30.000 some of our biggest systemic advocacy achievements. We've seen a 0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:34.350 lot of change in areas like the independent assessments move 0:18:34.350 --> 0:18:38.940 in the NDIS being discontinued. We've been working really closely 0:18:38.940 --> 0:18:42.210 with the New South Wales and the Tasmanian Electoral Commission 0:18:42.210 --> 0:18:46.720 to try and improve access to secret, independent and verifiable voting. 0:18:46.860 --> 0:18:50.010 And just earlier this week we met with the Victorian 0:18:50.010 --> 0:18:54.990 Education Minister and they announced that due to the huge amount, 0:18:54.990 --> 0:18:59.040 the overwhelming amount of advocacy and feedback they'd received, they 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:03.390 were going to discontinue their proposal to make significant changes 0:19:03.390 --> 0:19:06.690 to the visiting teacher program. So yeah, they're definitely a 0:19:06.690 --> 0:19:08.670 handful of the things that I'm the most proud of. 0:19:08.670 --> 0:19:12.510 And you're still around for quite a few weeks from 0:19:12.510 --> 0:19:16.590 now and staying around till late September. So it's probably 0:19:16.590 --> 0:19:19.200 a bit of a whirlwind to kind of wrap up 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.680 everything and tie up a few loose ends before you 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.770 move on, which we'll talk about in just a SEQ 0:19:25.770 --> 0:19:29.820 because that's a really exciting opportunity in itself. But what 0:19:29.820 --> 0:19:33.690 are some immediate plans that BCA has over the next 0:19:33.690 --> 0:19:34.680 coming weeks? 0:19:35.220 --> 0:19:38.940 September is going to be a really busy month for BCA. 0:19:38.940 --> 0:19:41.100 I'm really excited about a lot of the things that 0:19:41.100 --> 0:19:44.580 are happening. We've got BCA Connect on Policy coming up 0:19:44.580 --> 0:19:47.130 at the end of the month, that'll be Saturday the 0:19:47.130 --> 0:19:49.980 23rd where we're going to be talking about and launching 0:19:49.980 --> 0:19:53.040 some of our public policies. The full program for that's 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:55.200 going to be coming out next week and there's still 0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:58.380 plenty of time for anyone who's interested to register. We're 0:19:58.380 --> 0:20:00.510 also going to be announcing the recipient of the David 0:20:00.510 --> 0:20:04.650 Blythe Award and the Certificate of Appreciation. And soon after that, 0:20:04.650 --> 0:20:07.560 we're going to be holding our special general meeting where 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:10.020 we are going to ask our members to vote on 0:20:10.020 --> 0:20:13.410 proposed changes to our Constitution. It's going to be more 0:20:13.410 --> 0:20:16.620 discussions in the tell us what you think about series. 0:20:16.620 --> 0:20:19.800 And we're going to be looking at visual descriptions and 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.170 how do people feel about visual descriptions at the start 0:20:22.170 --> 0:20:24.420 of meetings and events and do they like it when 0:20:24.420 --> 0:20:26.760 people get up and talk about their appearance and their 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.820 backgrounds And if they do? What are some guidelines that 0:20:29.820 --> 0:20:33.210 we could provide people when they give those visual descriptions? 0:20:33.220 --> 0:20:35.770 So there's a lot happening in the month of September. 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:38.590 And in amongst all that, yeah, we will be preparing 0:20:38.590 --> 0:20:41.200 to hand over my role to a new person. So 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:42.730 it's definitely going to be busy times. 0:20:42.730 --> 0:20:46.720 Absolutely busy times. But there's also exciting times, as I 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.720 mentioned just briefly, I understand you'll be taking up an 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:54.430 opportunity to dedicate yourself to academic studies. So tell us 0:20:54.430 --> 0:20:57.100 a bit about that. What are you looking forward to there? 0:20:57.460 --> 0:20:59.710 Yeah. So the whole time I've been at BCA, I 0:20:59.710 --> 0:21:02.950 have also been studying part time through the University of 0:21:02.950 --> 0:21:06.280 New England and later in August I'll actually be heading 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:10.480 down to Armidale to graduate officially and accept my certificate 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:14.410 there and am commencing an honors program where I'll be 0:21:14.410 --> 0:21:20.050 researching employment initiatives both in Australia and overseas and investigating 0:21:20.050 --> 0:21:23.980 their outcomes for neurodiverse people. I'm really excited to be 0:21:23.980 --> 0:21:27.790 able to dedicate myself to being a full time student. 0:21:27.790 --> 0:21:30.760 It's not something I've had the opportunity to do before, 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:33.940 but I have had the opportunity to study full time 0:21:33.940 --> 0:21:37.000 and to work part time to support myself. That's come 0:21:37.000 --> 0:21:39.430 up for me and I've decided that it's an opportunity 0:21:39.430 --> 0:21:41.790 I can't miss. So I'm going to dedicate the next 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:43.810 year to my honours, and then my plans are to 0:21:43.810 --> 0:21:46.210 go on to some further study in the area of 0:21:46.270 --> 0:21:49.690 HR and look at developing a series of best practice 0:21:49.690 --> 0:21:51.580 standards for inclusive recruitment. 0:21:51.790 --> 0:21:54.820 So that's been an area that you've had a passion 0:21:54.820 --> 0:21:58.870 for for quite a while. What sort of specific aspects 0:21:58.870 --> 0:22:02.470 of this area are you really excited about and what 0:22:02.470 --> 0:22:05.320 are the sort of trends that you're looking forward to 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:09.190 seeing and learning from and taking away with you to 0:22:09.190 --> 0:22:11.590 bring into new roles as they come up? 0:22:11.770 --> 0:22:14.110 Yeah, I think at the moment it is a really 0:22:14.110 --> 0:22:16.570 exciting time. You know, we're in the early stages of 0:22:16.570 --> 0:22:20.830 the new Australian Disability Strategy. We're working on developing our 0:22:20.830 --> 0:22:25.330 first national autism strategy. A disability employment service is being 0:22:25.330 --> 0:22:28.330 reviewed and there are big changes happening there. So there's 0:22:28.330 --> 0:22:30.790 a lot happening when it comes to employment. And a 0:22:30.790 --> 0:22:33.370 lot of my career before I came to BCA was 0:22:33.370 --> 0:22:36.850 in the employment space working for disability employment service providers, 0:22:36.850 --> 0:22:39.580 Job Services Australia, the work for the Dole program, and 0:22:39.580 --> 0:22:42.460 I've seen those programs when they work, but I've also 0:22:42.460 --> 0:22:45.310 been part of them when they really haven't worked and 0:22:45.310 --> 0:22:48.790 they haven't met people's expectations and they haven't been able 0:22:48.790 --> 0:22:51.400 to tackle a lot of the systemic barriers and the 0:22:51.400 --> 0:22:53.680 issues that really get in the way of people with 0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:57.220 disability finding work like the poor community, attitudes that we 0:22:57.220 --> 0:22:59.830 know are really the biggest thing that we encounter when 0:22:59.830 --> 0:23:02.920 we're looking for jobs. So I'm hoping that over the 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:07.150 coming years I can put together some really practical research 0:23:07.150 --> 0:23:12.190 and come up with some tangible and implementable recommendations that 0:23:12.190 --> 0:23:16.330 might contribute towards seeing a shift in the very stubborn 0:23:16.330 --> 0:23:20.380 unemployment and underemployment rate of people with disability. My focus 0:23:20.380 --> 0:23:23.650 area at the moment is on people who are neurodiverse 0:23:23.650 --> 0:23:27.220 As a neurodiverse person myself, that's just of particular interest 0:23:27.220 --> 0:23:29.260 to me, but I want it to be things that 0:23:29.260 --> 0:23:33.190 are applicable to people with disability more broadly, things that 0:23:33.190 --> 0:23:37.090 could be implemented by any organisation, so that when we 0:23:37.090 --> 0:23:40.150 start to look at the breakdown of employees, we don't 0:23:40.150 --> 0:23:44.950 just measure gender and cultural linguistic diversity when we are 0:23:44.950 --> 0:23:48.190 looking at diversity, but we start to measure the number 0:23:48.190 --> 0:23:51.070 of staff we have with disability as well and really 0:23:51.070 --> 0:23:53.560 start to see a change in those employment statistics. 0:23:53.740 --> 0:23:58.480 Do you anticipate there will be something of a blindness 0:23:58.480 --> 0:24:02.410 and low vision component in the units and the courses 0:24:02.410 --> 0:24:05.470 that you'll be studying, or is it more focused in 0:24:05.620 --> 0:24:07.570 neurodiversity at this stage? 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:10.120 The study that I'll be doing is very much self 0:24:10.120 --> 0:24:13.960 directed research, so it involves quite an extensive literature review 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:18.280 of Australian and international material. A lot of that does 0:24:18.280 --> 0:24:22.840 focus on disability as a whole. There often isn't research 0:24:22.840 --> 0:24:27.280 that's broken down into specific disability types. There certainly is some, 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:29.590 but a lot of it is more broad. So I 0:24:29.590 --> 0:24:34.900 definitely will be investigating all types of disability, multiple disability 0:24:34.900 --> 0:24:38.140 and disability and all of it's intersectionality as well. 0:24:38.140 --> 0:24:41.920 And Sally, there's always an exciting opportunity in these sort 0:24:41.920 --> 0:24:45.130 of fields and this type of study to address some 0:24:45.130 --> 0:24:49.180 gaps in the scholarship and the research in terms of 0:24:49.450 --> 0:24:54.010 not only the social sciences, but really addressing the business 0:24:54.010 --> 0:24:59.620 community and making the findings really relevant to them as well. 0:24:59.620 --> 0:25:02.590 So is that something you're looking forward to in that regard? 0:25:02.620 --> 0:25:06.280 Yeah, absolutely. My study so far has been in the 0:25:06.280 --> 0:25:11.830 social sciences and also in organization management, and I'm really 0:25:11.830 --> 0:25:16.210 excited to be able to take the sociological issue and 0:25:16.210 --> 0:25:22.030 my perspective on it and incorporate that into something academic 0:25:22.030 --> 0:25:25.630 that can be presented to more of the business world 0:25:25.630 --> 0:25:29.740 and research that relates more directly to business and organizational 0:25:29.740 --> 0:25:33.730 development as a way to really bridge the. Between the 0:25:33.730 --> 0:25:34.620 two disciplines. 0:25:34.630 --> 0:25:37.840 Well, looking forward to keeping in touch with you and 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:40.870 perhaps catching up in a year or two to find 0:25:40.870 --> 0:25:43.900 out some things that you've come across and some real 0:25:43.900 --> 0:25:47.620 exciting trends or things to be aware of for people 0:25:47.620 --> 0:25:51.400 and raise awareness for the issues that people in the 0:25:51.400 --> 0:25:55.900 disabled community face on a daily basis. So definitely looking 0:25:55.900 --> 0:25:58.660 forward to keeping in touch and having a chat with 0:25:58.660 --> 0:26:01.840 you about that down the track. Now I've been speaking 0:26:01.840 --> 0:26:07.090 today with Sally Andrews, current CEO of BCA, but she's 0:26:07.090 --> 0:26:11.500 also heading off to take up an academic opportunity in 0:26:11.500 --> 0:26:14.470 the next couple of months. Sally, thanks so much for 0:26:14.470 --> 0:26:16.810 catching up with me today. All the best for your 0:26:16.810 --> 0:26:18.610 future academic studies. 0:26:18.730 --> 0:26:21.220 Thanks Sam, and thanks for all of your support over 0:26:21.220 --> 0:26:23.470 the past six years. It's always been a pleasure working 0:26:23.470 --> 0:26:24.070 with you. 0:26:31.350 --> 0:26:34.680 And that's all we have time for today. You've been 0:26:34.680 --> 0:26:39.030 listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of 0:26:39.030 --> 0:26:43.050 Vision Australia Radio. Thanks to all involved with putting the 0:26:43.050 --> 0:26:46.860 show together. And remember, we love your feedback and comments, 0:26:46.860 --> 0:26:50.490 so please do get in touch on Talking vision at 0:26:50.490 --> 0:26:57.300 Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. 0:26:57.300 --> 0:27:01.350 But until next week it's Sam Culley saying bye for now. 0:27:04.940 --> 0:27:08.990 You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during 0:27:08.990 --> 0:27:17.870 business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 308 4746 0:27:17.870 --> 0:27:23.150 or by visiting Vision australia.org that's Vision australia.org.