National Volunteer Week runs from the 20th to the 26th of May. And to mark the occasion today, we're catching up with a volunteer from the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo. His name is Barry Levani, and he's been involved with Vision Australia in numerous capacities for the past 18 years. And it's my pleasure to welcome Barry right now. Barry, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.

National Volunteer Week runs from the 20th to the 26th of May. And to mark the occasion today, we're catching up with a volunteer from the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo. His name is Barry Levani, and he's been involved with Vision Australia in numerous capacities for the past 18 years. And it's my pleasure to welcome Barry right now. Barry, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.

Pleasure to be here, Sam. Nice to speak to you.

Pleasure to be here, Sam. Nice to speak to you.

Now, firstly, Barry, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Now, firstly, Barry, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, I'm a retired person now. I've been a volunteer at Vision Australia for getting on for 18 years. I'm in Bendigo now, but I started off in Kooyong. I have a variety of volunteering connections with Vision Australia. Your listeners may know my voice from the Bendigo Advertiser slash Sunraysia Daily program. I do that once a week on Wednesday afternoons. I do the Uncertainty Principles science program, alternate weeks. I'm a contributor to Cover to Cover, which Tim McQueen puts together, so I read stories for that. I also fill in on at various stages for things that need to be filled in for if there's a shortage on somebody for online review midday to 1:00. As well as that I do reading record books for the Vision Australia library. The last one I did was John Sylvester's book The Naked City, and I read short stories for a zoom group. I read novels live at a day centre group in Bendigo once a week, and I sometimes drive the minibus for people to get to and from day centre groups here in Bendigo. That's about all that I do.

Well, I'm a retired person now. I've been a volunteer at Vision Australia for getting on for 18 years. I'm in Bendigo now, but I started off in Kooyong. I have a variety of volunteering connections with Vision Australia. Your listeners may know my voice from the Bendigo Advertiser slash Sunraysia Daily program. I do that once a week on Wednesday afternoons. I do the Uncertainty Principles science program, alternate weeks. I'm a contributor to Cover to Cover, which Tim McQueen puts together, so I read stories for that. I also fill in on at various stages for things that need to be filled in for if there's a shortage on somebody for online review midday to 1:00. As well as that I do reading record books for the Vision Australia library. The last one I did was John Sylvester's book The Naked City, and I read short stories for a zoom group. I read novels live at a day centre group in Bendigo once a week, and I sometimes drive the minibus for people to get to and from day centre groups here in Bendigo. That's about all that I do.

Well, you do at all. By the sounds. So. Yeah. No, you're so, um, you keep yourself very busy. So all those years ago, 18 years ago, what was it that got you into volunteering?

Well, you do at all. By the sounds. So. Yeah. No, you're so, um, you keep yourself very busy. So all those years ago, 18 years ago, what was it that got you into volunteering?

I'd always been interested in radio, Sam. I sometimes think I should have tried to make a career of it instead of doing what I did, which paid the bills, but I sometimes think I would have been better suited to a radio career. Anyway, I decided that I'd get into that. So I rang vision and I spoke to Anastasia, who's still here, volunteer coordinator, and she said there were no on air openings at that stage, but there were vacancies for technical operators, the people behind the scenes who play the ads and pushed the buttons and make sure you can hear everybody talking and those sorts of things. So for a few weeks I came in and I was trained by a very nice man named Henry, and then I was put with a programme on Thursday nights, and the team read letters to the editor and the Green Guide, and then some opinion pieces later in the evening. So I arrived at about 6:00 at night and we knocked off a ten and other programs took over. After a while, I auditioned and became a reader and did all kinds of interesting programs. That's one of the benefits of volunteering. I don't think I've ever done a program where I didn't enjoy or learn something, and so I did the financial supplements from newspapers, I read those, I read time magazine for a while, and I remember doing a couple of the choice the consumer magazine programs and something that I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. And I read all about the ingredients in chocolate cake. I remember, I'm not sure if you were skilled in the kitchen, Sam, but I occasionally get in there and have a go at things. Yeah, when you make a chocolate cake, you have things like eggs and cocoa and flour and stuff like that. But all the in the commercial ones there's stabilizer number 11777345992 and preservatives and all kinds of other things. So it was interesting to learn that. And then just before 2010 started, Robin, who was the station manager at that stage, said, has anyone got ideas for a programme? And I had worked in the computer industry for many years, and I thought it was ten years since the Y2K bug. And so I organised to interview a friend of mine who had been very involved in the software at that stage. And so we did a program about the Y2K bug. And Robin said, well, we'd like you to do some more programs. And I thought I could do maybe half an hour a month. And she said, oh, we'd like an hour a week. So I wondered what I could do. And a friend of mine said, well, we're both interested in science, why don't we put that on? And so the uncertainty principle was born and And that's been going for about 14 years now a bit over 14 years perhaps. All right. So that's how I got into things.

I'd always been interested in radio, Sam. I sometimes think I should have tried to make a career of it instead of doing what I did, which paid the bills, but I sometimes think I would have been better suited to a radio career. Anyway, I decided that I'd get into that. So I rang vision and I spoke to Anastasia, who's still here, volunteer coordinator, and she said there were no on air openings at that stage, but there were vacancies for technical operators, the people behind the scenes who play the ads and pushed the buttons and make sure you can hear everybody talking and those sorts of things. So for a few weeks I came in and I was trained by a very nice man named Henry, and then I was put with a programme on Thursday nights, and the team read letters to the editor and the Green Guide, and then some opinion pieces later in the evening. So I arrived at about 6:00 at night and we knocked off a ten and other programs took over. After a while, I auditioned and became a reader and did all kinds of interesting programs. That's one of the benefits of volunteering. I don't think I've ever done a program where I didn't enjoy or learn something, and so I did the financial supplements from newspapers, I read those, I read time magazine for a while, and I remember doing a couple of the choice the consumer magazine programs and something that I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. And I read all about the ingredients in chocolate cake. I remember, I'm not sure if you were skilled in the kitchen, Sam, but I occasionally get in there and have a go at things. Yeah, when you make a chocolate cake, you have things like eggs and cocoa and flour and stuff like that. But all the in the commercial ones there's stabilizer number 11777345992 and preservatives and all kinds of other things. So it was interesting to learn that. And then just before 2010 started, Robin, who was the station manager at that stage, said, has anyone got ideas for a programme? And I had worked in the computer industry for many years, and I thought it was ten years since the Y2K bug. And so I organised to interview a friend of mine who had been very involved in the software at that stage. And so we did a program about the Y2K bug. And Robin said, well, we'd like you to do some more programs. And I thought I could do maybe half an hour a month. And she said, oh, we'd like an hour a week. So I wondered what I could do. And a friend of mine said, well, we're both interested in science, why don't we put that on? And so the uncertainty principle was born and And that's been going for about 14 years now a bit over 14 years perhaps. All right. So that's how I got into things.

Yeah okay. So that uncertainty principle that's a baby of yours and something it is no doubt close to your heart. So what's it been like being involved with this program? You've got such an enthusiasm for and so much professional knowledge that you can bring to that program. Being involved with that for, as you say, 14 years now, that must be an absolute highlight of your life.

Yeah okay. So that uncertainty principle that's a baby of yours and something it is no doubt close to your heart. So what's it been like being involved with this program? You've got such an enthusiasm for and so much professional knowledge that you can bring to that program. Being involved with that for, as you say, 14 years now, that must be an absolute highlight of your life.

Yes, yes it is. And it also gave me an opportunity to contact people I wouldn't have otherwise rung. I haven't done any interviews since Covid or since coming to Bendigo. I'm still sorting out some technical stuff on that, but I got an opportunity to ring up all kinds of different scientists and to interview them live and ask them the questions I wanted to ask them. And so that was terrific. I've spoken to a nanotechnologist who works with tiny, tiny, tiny things, nanotechnology, things that are much smaller than a millimetre is the area that they're in. I've spoken to astronomers. I've spoken to medical researchers of various kinds. I did a series on the brain, a series of interviews on the brain and the mind with a professor from Adelaide, and I've really enjoyed that side of it. And I rarely read an article that I don't get something out of. At the moment I'm reading or I read from the Scientific American, the New Scientist, cosmos, which is an Australian science magazine, and anything else that comes to hand, anything out of the press or things like that. I remember one day I read a letter by a scientist named Richard Feynman, and he was one of the scientists who witnessed the first atomic bomb test. And this was a letter to his family. And and that was absolutely fascinating. I remember reading that in the studio. And whilst you're reading in the studio, the other presenters are often preparing the next article or whatever. But when I looked up after reading that, I had their attention too. So that was a fascinating article to have read.

Yes, yes it is. And it also gave me an opportunity to contact people I wouldn't have otherwise rung. I haven't done any interviews since Covid or since coming to Bendigo. I'm still sorting out some technical stuff on that, but I got an opportunity to ring up all kinds of different scientists and to interview them live and ask them the questions I wanted to ask them. And so that was terrific. I've spoken to a nanotechnologist who works with tiny, tiny, tiny things, nanotechnology, things that are much smaller than a millimetre is the area that they're in. I've spoken to astronomers. I've spoken to medical researchers of various kinds. I did a series on the brain, a series of interviews on the brain and the mind with a professor from Adelaide, and I've really enjoyed that side of it. And I rarely read an article that I don't get something out of. At the moment I'm reading or I read from the Scientific American, the New Scientist, cosmos, which is an Australian science magazine, and anything else that comes to hand, anything out of the press or things like that. I remember one day I read a letter by a scientist named Richard Feynman, and he was one of the scientists who witnessed the first atomic bomb test. And this was a letter to his family. And and that was absolutely fascinating. I remember reading that in the studio. And whilst you're reading in the studio, the other presenters are often preparing the next article or whatever. But when I looked up after reading that, I had their attention too. So that was a fascinating article to have read.

Following on from that, Barry, do you have another absolute favourite memory of yours from your 18 years of volunteering at Vision Australia that will stick with you for the rest of your life? I know it's almost impossible to pick just one.

Following on from that, Barry, do you have another absolute favourite memory of yours from your 18 years of volunteering at Vision Australia that will stick with you for the rest of your life? I know it's almost impossible to pick just one.

I think the things I remember, Sam are when listeners have contacted me and said that they've really enjoyed something that we've read. I read one environmental article once and it was a big one three quarters of an hour. So it was quite a long part of the programme and I try and do a diversity, but I thought that was so important. I'd read that one out and a listener contacted me and said that it was something that they really got something out of, so that was valuable. Not long after we started, I got a letter from or we got a letter from a listener who had said they'd been with us since the beginning and really enjoyed the program and got things out of it. So knowing that what I do and enjoy is a value and interest to other people is probably the highlight. And that's the thing with volunteering and giving you, you almost always get more out than you put in. I've volunteered and sometimes you think, oh, I'd really rather not be doing this today. I'd rather read my book or do something else. But I always enjoy doing the volunteering, and I really get a lot of satisfaction and pleasure out of what I do.

I think the things I remember, Sam are when listeners have contacted me and said that they've really enjoyed something that we've read. I read one environmental article once and it was a big one three quarters of an hour. So it was quite a long part of the programme and I try and do a diversity, but I thought that was so important. I'd read that one out and a listener contacted me and said that it was something that they really got something out of, so that was valuable. Not long after we started, I got a letter from or we got a letter from a listener who had said they'd been with us since the beginning and really enjoyed the program and got things out of it. So knowing that what I do and enjoy is a value and interest to other people is probably the highlight. And that's the thing with volunteering and giving you, you almost always get more out than you put in. I've volunteered and sometimes you think, oh, I'd really rather not be doing this today. I'd rather read my book or do something else. But I always enjoy doing the volunteering, and I really get a lot of satisfaction and pleasure out of what I do.

And of course, these sort of stations and services are not possible without the dedicated work of volunteers such as yourself, Barry, and as we celebrate National Volunteer Week, it is worth highlighting the importance of volunteers to a service like Vision Australia Radio. So how important is it for you and your colleagues, Barry, to have these hard working, dedicated volunteers working every week to provide such a vital service to the print disabled community?

And of course, these sort of stations and services are not possible without the dedicated work of volunteers such as yourself, Barry, and as we celebrate National Volunteer Week, it is worth highlighting the importance of volunteers to a service like Vision Australia Radio. So how important is it for you and your colleagues, Barry, to have these hard working, dedicated volunteers working every week to provide such a vital service to the print disabled community?

Well, I don't think we could afford to do we, being Vision Australia could afford to do this commercially. If you had to pay all the announcers and the time that's put in, then I don't think you'd be able to do that. Very important service. And I know it's an important service from speaking to people who listen to Vision Australia radio and enjoy it and get information out of it. If that wasn't there, that would be a serious gap in their lives. I've spoken to vision impaired people and clients of Vision Australia, who obviously used to enjoy reading a great deal, and now that their eyesight has faded or they've contracted some complaint, that means they can't see so well anymore. Vision Australia radio fills a hole for them that would be very difficult to fill otherwise, and reading the local paper, which I do on Wednesdays, we read the Bendigo Advertiser and the Sunraysia Daily, which is the local paper in Mildura. People often tell me that the death notices that we read out each week. It's very important for them. Some of our clients are older people and have friends or others who may pass away, and it's important for them to be up to date and to know that it's not the sort of thing that would be available any other way. So death notices and other local news items like road closures and things like that are of great interest to people in our listening area, and they wouldn't be able to get that information any other way.

Well, I don't think we could afford to do we, being Vision Australia could afford to do this commercially. If you had to pay all the announcers and the time that's put in, then I don't think you'd be able to do that. Very important service. And I know it's an important service from speaking to people who listen to Vision Australia radio and enjoy it and get information out of it. If that wasn't there, that would be a serious gap in their lives. I've spoken to vision impaired people and clients of Vision Australia, who obviously used to enjoy reading a great deal, and now that their eyesight has faded or they've contracted some complaint, that means they can't see so well anymore. Vision Australia radio fills a hole for them that would be very difficult to fill otherwise, and reading the local paper, which I do on Wednesdays, we read the Bendigo Advertiser and the Sunraysia Daily, which is the local paper in Mildura. People often tell me that the death notices that we read out each week. It's very important for them. Some of our clients are older people and have friends or others who may pass away, and it's important for them to be up to date and to know that it's not the sort of thing that would be available any other way. So death notices and other local news items like road closures and things like that are of great interest to people in our listening area, and they wouldn't be able to get that information any other way.

Certainly. Well, thank you very much for your time today, Barry. I've been speaking today with Barry Levin, the one of the hard working volunteers at the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo.

Certainly. Well, thank you very much for your time today, Barry. I've been speaking today with Barry Levin, the one of the hard working volunteers at the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo.