WEBVTT - Talking Vision 781 Week Beginning 19th of May 2025 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:18.920 From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's 0:00:18.919 --> 0:00:21.000 your host Sam Colley. 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:26.640 Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.640 for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:30.840 and low vision. 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.320 The point that I think Brandon and I have been 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:37.039 making is that when organizations like vision 2020, in all 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.560 of their different countries, go to their governments and say, hey, 0:00:40.559 --> 0:00:43.640 you need to come to the Global Eye Health Summit. Really, 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.719 the people who are impacted by eHealth should be involved 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.839 in those conversations and part of the advocacy push. 0:00:50.879 --> 0:00:54.959 Welcome to the program. This week, we have a long 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:59.800 form conversation with a couple of attendees at the recent 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:05.620 2030 Insight Live conference, which recently wrapped up in Kathmandu 0:01:05.620 --> 0:01:10.259 in Nepal. Their names are Jonathan, Craig and Brandon are 0:01:10.259 --> 0:01:16.660 Tong from vision 2020 and Fred Hollows Foundation, respectively. And 0:01:16.700 --> 0:01:19.979 they're here to talk to me about a range of topics, 0:01:19.980 --> 0:01:25.339 including the recent conference. Brandon's new role as the chair 0:01:25.340 --> 0:01:30.339 of the Western Pacific branch of the International Association for 0:01:30.340 --> 0:01:35.539 the Prevention of Blindness, and the work that the Iapb 0:01:35.539 --> 0:01:40.380 and various eHealth and advocacy bodies are doing to put 0:01:40.420 --> 0:01:46.100 together plans for a global eHealth summit to take place 0:01:46.100 --> 0:01:51.620 in 2026 or 2027. I hope you enjoy this week's 0:01:51.620 --> 0:02:00.580 episode of Talking Vision. With this year's 2030 Insight Live 0:02:00.580 --> 0:02:05.760 conference recently Concluding in Kathmandu, I had the great pleasure 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:10.040 of speaking with two of the attendees, Jonathan Craig and 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:13.720 Brandon Ah Tong. Now, Jonathan Craig is a voice you 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:17.080 may have heard a couple of times on Talking Vision. 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:22.359 He's the policy and advocacy manager at vision 2020 Australia. 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.440 But this is my first time chatting with Brandon for very, 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.640 very long time listeners. You may have heard him back 0:02:29.640 --> 0:02:33.880 in the day chatting with Stephen Jolly, but these days 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:38.280 he is the equivalent of sorts to Jonathan working at 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:42.919 Fred Hollows. There's also been quite a few developments of late, 0:02:42.920 --> 0:02:46.680 which I was very excited to chat to Brandon and 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:51.800 Jonathan about, such as the conferences build up to a 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:57.040 planned global health summit, and that's ongoing. But we also 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:03.530 saw Brandon sworn in as the Western Pacific chair of Iapb. 0:03:04.010 --> 0:03:09.010 So without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Jonathan 0:03:09.010 --> 0:03:13.890 Craig and Brandon Hartung on this week's episode of Talking Vision. 0:03:14.090 --> 0:03:17.850 Jonathan Brandon, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much 0:03:17.850 --> 0:03:18.890 for your time. 0:03:18.890 --> 0:03:20.050 Thank you for having us. 0:03:20.050 --> 0:03:21.130 Great to be here, Sam. 0:03:21.490 --> 0:03:26.250 Now, Jonathan, we've spoken a couple of times before, but Brandon, 0:03:26.290 --> 0:03:30.250 you're quite new to talking vision. Let's just give you 0:03:30.250 --> 0:03:34.410 an opportunity to introduce yourself and Jonathan will come to 0:03:34.410 --> 0:03:37.130 you afterwards for new listeners. 0:03:37.130 --> 0:03:40.050 Sure. Happy to do so. Sam and I actually have 0:03:40.090 --> 0:03:42.650 been here a number of times in the past. So 0:03:42.690 --> 0:03:46.370 my name's Brandon Hartung. My day job is the director 0:03:46.370 --> 0:03:49.930 of Global Policy and Advocacy with the Fred Hollows Foundation. 0:03:50.370 --> 0:03:53.650 But I do wear several hats, one of which is 0:03:53.650 --> 0:03:56.890 the regional chair for the Western Pacific, for the International 0:03:56.890 --> 0:04:00.150 Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, which is effectively the 0:04:00.150 --> 0:04:04.830 global peak body for the eHealth sector. I'm also a 0:04:04.870 --> 0:04:09.750 board member of vision 2020 Australia, former employee of Vision Australia, 0:04:10.070 --> 0:04:13.430 current member of Vision Australia and client and also a 0:04:13.430 --> 0:04:16.510 member of Blind Citizens Australia. So many hats. 0:04:16.870 --> 0:04:17.710 So many hats. 0:04:17.750 --> 0:04:22.350 Certainly. And speaking of hats, you've got quite a few yourself, Jonathan. 0:04:22.390 --> 0:04:26.270 Perhaps not as many as Brandon, but still quite impressive 0:04:26.270 --> 0:04:27.750 in their own right. 0:04:27.790 --> 0:04:31.990 Yeah, I'm working on my hat collection, so I am 0:04:32.030 --> 0:04:37.350 currently policy and advocacy manager for vision 2020 Australia and 0:04:37.350 --> 0:04:41.750 former editor, also of Blind Citizen's News magazine from BCA. 0:04:41.950 --> 0:04:45.950 And as I understand it, Jonathan, you've been jet setting 0:04:45.950 --> 0:04:50.310 around the world recently. You've headed off to Kathmandu in 0:04:50.350 --> 0:04:55.550 Nepal for the 2030 Insight Live conference. So tell us 0:04:55.550 --> 0:04:57.890 a bit about that one and how that all went. 0:04:58.090 --> 0:05:02.050 So this was my first Insight Live conference. Do you 0:05:02.050 --> 0:05:03.610 know how many you've been to, Brandon? 0:05:03.770 --> 0:05:06.090 Oh, must be my 11th. 0:05:06.330 --> 0:05:08.410 Yeah. So the two of us were coming to it 0:05:08.410 --> 0:05:12.330 from different angles. But Brandon was a big part of 0:05:12.410 --> 0:05:15.850 convincing me that I should and could go. And also, 0:05:16.090 --> 0:05:20.090 my CEO, Carly Isles, played a big part. And I 0:05:20.090 --> 0:05:25.130 think for me to go to a conference where 59 0:05:25.170 --> 0:05:31.490 countries were represented, that in itself was just extraordinary. And 0:05:31.490 --> 0:05:36.330 to really think about the fact that all over the world, 0:05:36.330 --> 0:05:40.730 people are dealing with the same kind of issues and 0:05:40.770 --> 0:05:45.010 coming toward the same kind of solutions as we are 0:05:45.130 --> 0:05:49.930 here in Australia is also very helpful in that it 0:05:49.930 --> 0:05:54.570 makes us all feel less alone. And yet there are 0:05:54.570 --> 0:05:58.990 also really unique contextual problems everywhere that we go, and 0:05:58.990 --> 0:06:02.589 contextual solutions as well. Um, Nepal is a very interesting 0:06:02.590 --> 0:06:06.910 country because they're really very, very committed to eHealth and 0:06:06.910 --> 0:06:11.430 to creating better treatment pathways for preventable blindness. But they 0:06:11.430 --> 0:06:15.110 have so many problems there with remoteness and trying to 0:06:15.110 --> 0:06:17.830 get services out to people and trying to educate people 0:06:17.830 --> 0:06:21.430 about what services are available. So I like to say 0:06:21.430 --> 0:06:24.630 that I was very wide eared. I was just so 0:06:24.670 --> 0:06:27.630 eager to absorb and learn about everything. 0:06:27.910 --> 0:06:31.789 Brandon, I'm very interested to come to you now and 0:06:31.790 --> 0:06:36.510 get your thoughts on the most recent conference, but also 0:06:36.630 --> 0:06:41.350 as a veteran Insight Live conference attendee. I'm very interested 0:06:41.350 --> 0:06:44.750 to just get some details for people out there who 0:06:44.790 --> 0:06:47.950 may not be familiar with the conference and the sort 0:06:47.950 --> 0:06:49.350 of topics they cover. 0:06:49.590 --> 0:06:53.790 Sure. Happy to do that. Maybe I might find, you know, 0:06:53.790 --> 0:06:57.090 a decade or so to my first conference and coming 0:06:57.090 --> 0:07:00.730 it from that angle. So my career in policy and 0:07:00.730 --> 0:07:05.530 advocacy started here at Vision Australia, actually. And the last 0:07:05.530 --> 0:07:09.490 role I had was the manager of the public Affairs department. 0:07:09.810 --> 0:07:14.210 And then I moved to vision 2020 Australia, actually, where 0:07:14.570 --> 0:07:19.130 into a predecessor role of Jonathan's in actual fact. And 0:07:19.130 --> 0:07:22.330 so it was there that I attended my first Iapb 0:07:22.370 --> 0:07:26.770 or International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness conference. At 0:07:26.810 --> 0:07:30.330 that time they were called Council of Members meetings, and 0:07:30.330 --> 0:07:34.610 they were very much so simply there for members of 0:07:34.610 --> 0:07:39.210 Iapb to come together to look at issues affecting members 0:07:39.210 --> 0:07:43.410 in the areas, regions, countries that they're working in and 0:07:43.410 --> 0:07:48.010 to work towards what was then the broader movement of 0:07:48.010 --> 0:07:53.230 vision 2020, Right to Sight and the Who's global Action 0:07:53.230 --> 0:07:58.310 Plan on universal health. If we skip forward to 2020, 0:07:58.950 --> 0:08:04.110 2020 was both a year and the culmination of that 0:08:04.110 --> 0:08:07.430 vision 2020 movement. So there was a question mark around, 0:08:07.470 --> 0:08:11.190 so what are we doing post 2020? And in the 0:08:11.190 --> 0:08:15.510 development of the new global strategy, what emerged was a 0:08:15.510 --> 0:08:21.190 strategy called 2030 in sight. And that strategy really tries 0:08:21.190 --> 0:08:25.430 to lean into three things. One, it's about elevating eHealth 0:08:25.430 --> 0:08:29.990 as a political issue in the broader Sustainable Development Goals 0:08:29.990 --> 0:08:36.470 world or SDGs. Number two, to integrate eHealth within health 0:08:36.470 --> 0:08:41.550 and beyond health. And number three, to really drive activation 0:08:41.550 --> 0:08:45.109 of eHealth, um, with different sectors such as the private 0:08:45.109 --> 0:08:48.550 sector and public private partnerships and those sorts of things. 0:08:48.990 --> 0:08:53.439 So 2030 Insight Night Live is a conference that's aimed 0:08:53.439 --> 0:08:58.040 at progressing that strategy. And unlike the conference of a 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.800 decade ago, this conference is really about trying to bring 0:09:01.839 --> 0:09:06.240 a broader group of members and supporters together towards this 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:10.759 broader movement. And again, 2030 is both part of the 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:13.719 title of the strategy. But of course, it's also about 0:09:13.719 --> 0:09:16.640 the year 2030 that culminates in the end of the 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:22.319 current SDG or Sustainable Development Goals era. So that's really 0:09:22.319 --> 0:09:26.480 the background of where 2030 Insight Live has come from. 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:32.800 And I've seen a real shift in evolution of the conversations, 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.559 the types of areas of interest that people coming to 0:09:36.599 --> 0:09:40.080 the conference are looking to lean into, learn from, and 0:09:40.079 --> 0:09:44.559 deepen their understanding around. And one of them is around 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:49.440 the question of, are we here simply to address avoidable blindness? 0:09:49.439 --> 0:09:51.579 And I wouldn't mind coming back to that question in 0:09:51.579 --> 0:09:57.020 a second. But also the current W.H.O. strategy, which is 0:09:57.020 --> 0:10:01.300 called integrated people centred eyecare. Which comes under a broader 0:10:01.300 --> 0:10:06.340 framework around advancing and trying to achieve universal health coverage. 0:10:06.540 --> 0:10:12.020 Which basically means that everybody, everywhere should have equal access 0:10:12.219 --> 0:10:17.020 to quality and affordable health services. And in our case, 0:10:17.260 --> 0:10:22.380 eHealth and eye care services. And that spectrum goes beyond 0:10:22.699 --> 0:10:29.499 avoidable blindness, but also includes vision rehabilitation, access to assistive technologies, 0:10:29.660 --> 0:10:32.939 and ensuring that people who are blind or vision impaired 0:10:33.420 --> 0:10:36.819 are fully included and participate in their communities. 0:10:36.939 --> 0:10:40.740 Mhm. Okay. And vision rehabilitation is and all of that is, 0:10:40.740 --> 0:10:44.060 is yeah. The work that Vision Australia does here. But 0:10:44.099 --> 0:10:46.980 you know is done by various organizations in the rest 0:10:46.979 --> 0:10:47.819 of the world. 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:51.640 Jonathan, I'm really keen to, um, continue on with you 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:54.319 and give Brandon's voice a little bit of a break 0:10:54.319 --> 0:11:01.119 because he's just given some absolutely fantastic descriptions and insights there. But, Jonathan, I'll, um, 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:05.559 continue on with you, especially in regards to the conferences 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:11.079 and their work towards a planned global eHealth summit, which 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:15.079 has been eHealth has been mentioned in there quite extensively 0:11:15.079 --> 0:11:17.719 by Brandon. But tell us a little bit about that 0:11:17.719 --> 0:11:20.920 global summit and the plans around that one. 0:11:21.439 --> 0:11:26.519 Yes. Well, this was a really important topic of the conference, really. 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:31.280 The global eHealth summit, put very simply, is essentially a 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:36.319 real push to get many countries, hopefully 50 countries at least, 0:11:36.359 --> 0:11:41.520 to make a real and genuine commitment to eHealth. And 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.800 another example that you might have heard about on Vision 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:48.179 Australia Radio is the Global disability summit that happened earlier 0:11:48.179 --> 0:11:51.819 this year. But the Global Health Summit is something that 0:11:51.859 --> 0:11:55.739 we're building up towards and strategizing towards. How can we 0:11:55.740 --> 0:11:58.540 get our countries involved? And that's where vision 2020 comes 0:11:58.540 --> 0:12:01.179 into play here, because one of our missions will be, 0:12:01.219 --> 0:12:03.859 how can we get Australia to come to the summit? 0:12:03.859 --> 0:12:07.939 Can we get Australia to make a commitment around eHealth 0:12:07.979 --> 0:12:11.689 at the global eHealth summit, when it happens in 2026 0:12:11.689 --> 0:12:14.940 or 2027? So I think that was the pulse of 0:12:14.939 --> 0:12:18.420 the conference. And really, Brandon and I kind of have 0:12:18.459 --> 0:12:22.459 an interesting, like shared opinion or shared mission that we have, 0:12:22.500 --> 0:12:24.540 if you don't mind me saying, you know, which is 0:12:24.540 --> 0:12:28.020 I think that one of the things that IPB needs 0:12:28.020 --> 0:12:30.500 to do more, which is not to be criticizing them, 0:12:30.500 --> 0:12:33.740 but we really think is valuable, is to bring more 0:12:33.780 --> 0:12:38.659 lived experience into the conversation. Now, lived experience doesn't necessarily 0:12:38.660 --> 0:12:41.340 just mean people who are blind, but it also means 0:12:41.339 --> 0:12:46.120 people who have been patients and who have benefited from 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:50.519 eHealth services and or people who haven't benefited when they 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:54.200 needed eHealth services. For someone who needed a cataract surgery 0:12:54.199 --> 0:12:56.800 but wasn't able to get one. And the point that 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.839 I think Brandon and I have been making is that 0:12:59.839 --> 0:13:03.879 when organizations like vision 2020, in all of their different countries, 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.559 go to their governments and say, hey, you need to 0:13:06.599 --> 0:13:09.719 come to the global eHealth summit. Really, the people who 0:13:09.719 --> 0:13:14.279 are impacted by eHealth should be involved in those conversations 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.760 and part of the advocacy push. Do you think that's 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.359 a good starting point of what we're talking about, Brandon? 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:22.319 Yeah, absolutely. And you've brought one of the things that 0:13:22.319 --> 0:13:26.119 we really need to strengthen and work on within Iapb Britain, 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:30.040 within the broader eHealth sector itself. And I think, number one, 0:13:30.079 --> 0:13:34.880 starting with bringing those voices to conferences like this, embedding 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:39.760 those voices into existing subcommittees and committees, developing the summit 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.730 will be really important to actually bring that perspective in 0:13:43.770 --> 0:13:46.929 and to expand out the breadth and the depth of 0:13:46.929 --> 0:13:49.089 what we do at the summit and what we're trying 0:13:49.089 --> 0:13:53.329 to engage governments first and foremost, to actually commit to. 0:13:53.650 --> 0:13:56.650 And it's been my mission in my own professional career 0:13:56.650 --> 0:13:59.610 to try and bridge the divide between what I would 0:13:59.609 --> 0:14:03.450 call sort of vision related disability and eHealth, where you've 0:14:03.449 --> 0:14:07.890 got those prevention treatment elements. And because us as people, 0:14:07.890 --> 0:14:09.929 we're not as simple as saying you're in that box 0:14:09.929 --> 0:14:13.449 or this box. We are people who engage in healthcare. 0:14:13.449 --> 0:14:16.730 We are people who engage with various types of services, 0:14:16.729 --> 0:14:21.690 whether it be orthoptics or using assistive technology or orientation 0:14:21.690 --> 0:14:24.330 and mobility. We come in and out of things all 0:14:24.330 --> 0:14:26.450 the time, and we need to make sure that the 0:14:26.490 --> 0:14:31.290 summit and what governments are signing up to actually reflect 0:14:31.290 --> 0:14:34.490 that experience and the breadth and depth of what people 0:14:34.490 --> 0:14:35.609 really need in their lives. 0:14:41.010 --> 0:14:44.750 On Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision on 0:14:44.750 --> 0:14:50.470 Vision Australia Radio. Associated Stations of Reading Radio and the 0:14:50.470 --> 0:14:54.950 Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed the first half 0:14:54.950 --> 0:14:59.910 of that interview there with Brandon Hartung and Jonathan Craig. 0:15:00.390 --> 0:15:04.030 If you missed any part of my conversation today with 0:15:04.030 --> 0:15:07.670 Brandon or Jonathan, or you'd love to hear it again, 0:15:07.950 --> 0:15:12.430 please feel free to head to the Vision Australia Radio 0:15:12.470 --> 0:15:19.150 website at radio That's RVA radio Dot to catch up 0:15:19.150 --> 0:15:23.550 on all episodes of Talking Vision, including this one. You 0:15:23.550 --> 0:15:26.870 can also find the program on the podcast app of 0:15:26.870 --> 0:15:31.430 your choice or through the Vision Australia library. And now, 0:15:31.470 --> 0:15:35.310 please enjoy the second half of my interview with Brandon 0:15:35.310 --> 0:15:39.890 and Jonathan. We're staying with Brandon as I chat to 0:15:39.930 --> 0:15:44.970 him about a recent development. A quite exciting one where 0:15:44.970 --> 0:15:50.810 he has been sworn in as the chair of the Iapb. 0:15:50.810 --> 0:15:54.650 S Western Pacific Region brand. And I'd love to stay 0:15:54.650 --> 0:15:57.810 with you and have a little bit of a chat 0:15:57.810 --> 0:16:02.930 about some recent developments for you in regards to being 0:16:02.970 --> 0:16:08.410 sworn in as the Western Pacific Chair of Iapb. So 0:16:08.609 --> 0:16:12.210 I'm really keen to get your feelings around that, and 0:16:12.250 --> 0:16:16.730 also what you're really looking forward to getting stuck into. 0:16:16.770 --> 0:16:19.930 And I guess this is also a good opportunity to 0:16:19.970 --> 0:16:24.609 come back to that question you raised around preventable blindness. 0:16:24.650 --> 0:16:27.450 Sure. Let me start with I'll zoom out to global 0:16:27.450 --> 0:16:30.090 and then I'll come into the Western Pacific region. So 0:16:30.090 --> 0:16:32.650 if we look at what is the population of the 0:16:32.650 --> 0:16:35.450 world that we're talking about here. So the numbers are 0:16:35.490 --> 0:16:38.950 quite stark. So if we talk about people who have 0:16:39.190 --> 0:16:42.310 a vision impairment of some sort, whether it's been prevented 0:16:42.310 --> 0:16:45.430 or treated already. People who do wear glasses, for example, 0:16:45.430 --> 0:16:50.430 we're talking about more than 2.2 billion people globally. Of those, 0:16:51.030 --> 0:16:55.710 at least 1.1 billion people have a condition that has 0:16:56.109 --> 0:16:59.029 could have been prevented or is yet to be treated. 0:16:59.350 --> 0:17:04.950 Within that group, at least 80 million people have a 0:17:05.390 --> 0:17:09.830 condition of blindness or vision impairment that is not preventable 0:17:10.109 --> 0:17:14.190 at this point in time and need access to assistive technology, 0:17:14.230 --> 0:17:18.510 skills development and universal access in the community. So they're 0:17:18.510 --> 0:17:21.550 the numbers in the Western Pacific region, which I have 0:17:21.550 --> 0:17:23.550 the privilege and honor. And it's a bit humbling to 0:17:23.590 --> 0:17:27.109 think about, really to represent are the members in the 0:17:27.109 --> 0:17:31.590 western rim of the Pacific Ocean, which ranges from up 0:17:31.629 --> 0:17:38.250 in Mongolia, China, Japan, Korea through Southeast Asia, you know, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, 0:17:38.290 --> 0:17:43.489 down through Australia and the Pacific, Pacific Islands, Samoa, Fiji, 0:17:43.530 --> 0:17:47.010 Tonga and all the way down to New Zealand. So 0:17:47.409 --> 0:17:51.129 37 countries in all, and we have around about 27 0:17:51.129 --> 0:17:56.410 members within those countries. And in terms of blindness and 0:17:56.409 --> 0:18:00.290 vision impairment, around about 90 million people have a condition 0:18:00.290 --> 0:18:03.810 who are blind or moderate to severe vision impairment. And 0:18:03.850 --> 0:18:06.530 of those around about 10 million people who are blind, 0:18:06.570 --> 0:18:10.690 that number zooms up. If you think about conditions like presbyopia, 0:18:10.690 --> 0:18:15.250 which is otherwise known as near vision impairment. Those numbers 0:18:15.290 --> 0:18:19.370 go up even more. Some of the conditions that are 0:18:19.369 --> 0:18:22.369 particularly prevalent in this region and Australia's in this region, 0:18:22.409 --> 0:18:26.690 of course, are uncorrected refractive error. So people who need 0:18:26.730 --> 0:18:29.330 a pair of glasses here in Australia, we kind of 0:18:29.369 --> 0:18:31.489 often take it for granted that we can get a 0:18:31.490 --> 0:18:35.150 pair of glasses, but we do know that somewhere in 0:18:35.149 --> 0:18:38.870 the vicinity of two out of three people who need 0:18:38.909 --> 0:18:41.429 a pair of glasses globally don't actually have a pair. 0:18:41.470 --> 0:18:44.149 We also know here in Australia that if you are 0:18:44.190 --> 0:18:47.710 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, you're three times more likely 0:18:47.710 --> 0:18:50.429 to need a pair of glasses or have vision impairment 0:18:50.430 --> 0:18:54.189 than non-Indigenous Australians. So it's an issue that, like Jonathan 0:18:54.190 --> 0:18:58.430 said earlier, pervades different countries, but people and communities within 0:18:58.430 --> 0:19:01.629 countries as well. So my role, I mean, I'm really 0:19:01.629 --> 0:19:04.430 excited by the role. I've got sort of two things 0:19:04.430 --> 0:19:10.350 in my list right now. One is advancing the global summit, 0:19:10.590 --> 0:19:13.950 and that means trying to look at engaging our members, 0:19:14.149 --> 0:19:20.310 engaging countries within this region to both. Number one, attend 0:19:20.470 --> 0:19:25.950 the summit. Number two, commit to making tangible commitments in 0:19:25.950 --> 0:19:32.629 policy and practice, in funding and regulation for those commitments 0:19:32.790 --> 0:19:35.680 and to really kind of lean in and activate the 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:38.919 base of the health sector within countries in the region. 0:19:38.919 --> 0:19:41.280 That's number one. And then number two at the moment, 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:43.879 you know, I'm a newbie, so I'm really keen to 0:19:43.879 --> 0:19:47.040 be listening and talking to our members and understanding what's 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:50.040 the world like for them. What's keeping them up at night? 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:52.199 What do they need to focus on? And from an 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:56.480 IP perspective, what can IP be do to help? 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:01.800 Speaking of newbies, I mean Jonathan's very, very new to 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:02.879 the world of newbie. 0:20:02.919 --> 0:20:03.240 What am. 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:07.519 I? Yeah. In terms of his involvement with Iapb, he's 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:11.719 just recently dived into that world. But it'd be great 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:15.280 to just get the perspective of both of you as 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:19.920 two people with lived experience of blindness at very different 0:20:19.919 --> 0:20:25.200 stages of engagement with Iapb. So Jonathan will come to 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:27.480 you and get your thoughts and feelings. 0:20:27.520 --> 0:20:32.619 Yeah. So my blindness is not avoidable. I was born 0:20:32.619 --> 0:20:35.540 with what the. You know, an inherited retinal disease is 0:20:35.540 --> 0:20:39.300 the technical term for it. But I came into this 0:20:39.300 --> 0:20:44.660 conference with IPB making a real commitment to think about 0:20:44.659 --> 0:20:48.580 how they include people who are blind or vision impaired. 0:20:48.740 --> 0:20:51.939 And they came up with an actually a really brilliant idea, 0:20:51.940 --> 0:20:55.379 which is really worth highlighting, which was that they employed 0:20:55.419 --> 0:21:00.980 optometry students from Nepal as sighted guides to assist people 0:21:00.980 --> 0:21:04.460 who were attending the conference. And I think the real 0:21:04.500 --> 0:21:07.580 benefit of that was that the optometry students felt like 0:21:07.580 --> 0:21:10.460 they were getting something out of it. They felt like 0:21:10.500 --> 0:21:13.420 they were benefiting from it by being able to attend 0:21:13.419 --> 0:21:16.180 a conference that they would otherwise not have afforded to 0:21:16.220 --> 0:21:19.180 go to. And so it was there was this equitable 0:21:19.180 --> 0:21:22.580 relationship that I had where I was getting something I 0:21:22.580 --> 0:21:24.459 could go, where I wanted to go when I wanted 0:21:24.460 --> 0:21:27.540 to go there. But the student was also getting something. 0:21:27.820 --> 0:21:31.359 I'm seeing IPB at had a bit of an inflection 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:34.480 point where they are starting to think a little bit 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:39.399 more about rehabilitation, as is the technical term, and about 0:21:39.399 --> 0:21:43.840 what happens when people have gone blind. I initially went thinking, oh, 0:21:43.879 --> 0:21:46.199 I don't know anything about this, and there's nothing I 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.080 could possibly contribute. You know, I'm just going to sit 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:51.679 and listen. But then I think there is something great 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:54.119 that we do in Australia and in some parts of 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:56.920 the world that I think is really important, which is 0:21:56.919 --> 0:22:01.320 increasingly through things like vision 2020, the eye health sector 0:22:01.320 --> 0:22:04.000 is being connected to each other. So, as you said, 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:10.200 Brandon before, we're connecting in optometry and ophthalmology to assistive technology, 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:14.919 to occupational therapy, to orientation and mobility. We're not having 0:22:14.919 --> 0:22:19.359 these things separated with an impenetrable wall between them. And 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:23.359 I think that's the thing that might change over time. IPB. 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:26.199 It's funny, Jonathan, you may have thought you were coming 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:29.260 on a holiday, but we put you to work pretty hard. 0:22:29.260 --> 0:22:31.939 And interestingly, one of the things that does happen at 0:22:31.940 --> 0:22:36.100 these conferences where there's a formal conference component, but because 0:22:36.100 --> 0:22:39.020 we're trying to make use of people coming together from 0:22:39.020 --> 0:22:42.060 all over the world, like you said, 59 countries, we 0:22:42.060 --> 0:22:46.660 have other work group meetings the day before, but there 0:22:46.659 --> 0:22:50.220 was also other global summit meetings, and poor Jonathan was 0:22:50.220 --> 0:22:54.100 roped into all of the above. So we put him 0:22:54.100 --> 0:22:55.020 to work pretty hard. 0:22:55.060 --> 0:23:00.139 Oh, fantastic. Okay. Well, I might get some final thoughts 0:23:00.139 --> 0:23:03.859 from you both. So Jonathan will come to you. And 0:23:03.859 --> 0:23:07.500 what do you look forward to in the future of 0:23:07.500 --> 0:23:11.139 IAP and the work you're also doing elsewhere in the 0:23:11.139 --> 0:23:13.580 various hats you're wearing at the moment? 0:23:14.260 --> 0:23:17.540 Yeah, I really think that this was my first and 0:23:17.540 --> 0:23:21.100 won't be my last insight live. I think that it 0:23:21.100 --> 0:23:24.460 was a great group of people that I got talking to, 0:23:24.500 --> 0:23:28.639 and honestly, it made me feel happy that there are 0:23:28.639 --> 0:23:31.320 people all over the world trying to work through the 0:23:31.320 --> 0:23:35.680 same problems, and I'm looking forward to using that collective 0:23:35.720 --> 0:23:38.600 global wisdom more in my own work. 0:23:38.800 --> 0:23:42.600 Okay, and Brandon, just come to you for a final wrap. 0:23:42.639 --> 0:23:44.840 Sure. Just before I do that, I did want to 0:23:44.840 --> 0:23:47.359 say that one of the things that was terrific and 0:23:47.359 --> 0:23:50.399 it was really amazing to have Jonathan part of it. 0:23:50.600 --> 0:23:55.119 There was the launch of a disability inclusion work group 0:23:55.159 --> 0:23:59.240 as part of the official Iapb work groups. And that 0:23:59.240 --> 0:24:03.320 group will be really looking about how do we infuse 0:24:03.840 --> 0:24:07.519 disability inclusion throughout the work of the Iapb. And Jonathan 0:24:07.520 --> 0:24:10.439 was part of that conversation and has some actions to 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:12.960 take forward. So I think that's a really great sign 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:16.520 for me having Jonathan come to the conference. I'm often 0:24:16.800 --> 0:24:19.920 one of maybe 1 or 2 people who who are 0:24:19.919 --> 0:24:23.520 blind at the conference, and we need more people who 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:26.700 are blind coming to the conference and sharing their stories 100%. 0:24:26.740 --> 0:24:30.100 So going forward, I mean, I the big the big 0:24:30.100 --> 0:24:33.300 ticket really moving forward is to make the Global Summit 0:24:33.340 --> 0:24:38.380 on eHealth live and create the movement for change that 0:24:38.379 --> 0:24:41.460 goes way beyond an event that we need to have 0:24:41.500 --> 0:24:45.540 both various political campaigns that build up to and bring 0:24:45.540 --> 0:24:49.740 governments to the table. There will be the summit itself, 0:24:49.980 --> 0:24:52.900 but it goes way beyond that. We'll have an accountability framework. 0:24:53.139 --> 0:24:56.300 So what I would like your listeners to think about 0:24:56.300 --> 0:24:59.619 is how might you get involved in talking to local 0:24:59.619 --> 0:25:04.179 members or even talking to vision 2020 Australia, or even 0:25:04.180 --> 0:25:06.780 coming to Vision Australia and asking, you know, what are 0:25:06.780 --> 0:25:10.459 you doing around supporting the global summit? Because we've got 0:25:10.500 --> 0:25:12.379 actions that need to happen here, here, here at home 0:25:12.379 --> 0:25:15.500 in Australia. And this is a platform where we can 0:25:15.540 --> 0:25:20.060 both create change here in Australia and then take that learning, 0:25:20.100 --> 0:25:23.340 take those commitments to be part of that global movement. 0:25:23.430 --> 0:25:26.869 Well, on that note, I think we might wrap up there. 0:25:26.869 --> 0:25:32.550 I've been speaking today with Brandon Tong and Jonathan Craig about, well, 0:25:32.590 --> 0:25:36.949 what haven't we talked about today? The 2030 Insight conference, 0:25:36.950 --> 0:25:41.429 which recently wrapped up in Kathmandu and Nepal, the plans 0:25:41.430 --> 0:25:45.910 around the Global Eye Health Summit, Brandon being sworn in 0:25:45.950 --> 0:25:50.869 as the Western Pacific chair of Iapb, and Jonathan and 0:25:50.869 --> 0:25:56.350 Brandon's thoughts about being involved with Iapb at different stages 0:25:56.350 --> 0:25:59.909 of their engagement with the organization. So we're very keen 0:25:59.950 --> 0:26:03.350 to keep tabs on both of those stories and have 0:26:03.350 --> 0:26:07.350 you back on the program in the coming months and years. 0:26:07.350 --> 0:26:10.550 So thank you very much to you both for making 0:26:10.550 --> 0:26:13.070 some time to chat with me today. It's been an 0:26:13.070 --> 0:26:14.190 absolute pleasure. 0:26:14.389 --> 0:26:15.150 Thank you. 0:26:15.190 --> 0:26:17.310 I'd love to and looking forward to another chat. 0:26:23.530 --> 0:26:26.570 And that's all the time we have for today. You've 0:26:26.570 --> 0:26:30.729 been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision 0:26:30.770 --> 0:26:34.930 Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the 0:26:34.930 --> 0:26:39.090 show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. 0:26:39.090 --> 0:26:42.570 So please get in touch anytime on our email at 0:26:42.609 --> 0:26:48.010 Talking Vision at Vision Australia. That's talking vision all. One 0:26:48.010 --> 0:26:52.770 word at Vision Australia. But until next week it's Sam 0:26:52.770 --> 0:26:54.729 Culley saying bye for now. 0:26:58.129 --> 0:27:02.210 You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during 0:27:02.210 --> 0:27:10.090 business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 74 0:27:10.609 --> 0:27:15.609 six or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.