From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's your host, Sam Colley.

From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's your host, Sam Colley.

Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness and low vision.

Hello everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness and low vision.

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.

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.

Welcome to the program! This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week by chatting to a volunteer from Vision Australia Radio in Bendigo. His name is Barry and you'll hear from him later on in the program today, so make sure to stick around for that one. But before you hear from Barry, I caught up with four. That's right, four of the people who are involved in the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day in Brisbane on the 8th of June, and that interview is coming up right now. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. I'm here today with an absolute star studded cast here to talk about the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day we have today Courtney McKee, Mel Bly, Donna Dyson and Amish Shomali and it's my absolute pleasure to welcome you all to Talking Vision today. Thank you very much for your time. Courtney. We'll start with you. Could you give us a bit of an overview about the open day?

Welcome to the program! This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week by chatting to a volunteer from Vision Australia Radio in Bendigo. His name is Barry and you'll hear from him later on in the program today, so make sure to stick around for that one. But before you hear from Barry, I caught up with four. That's right, four of the people who are involved in the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day in Brisbane on the 8th of June, and that interview is coming up right now. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. I'm here today with an absolute star studded cast here to talk about the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day we have today Courtney McKee, Mel Bly, Donna Dyson and Amish Shomali and it's my absolute pleasure to welcome you all to Talking Vision today. Thank you very much for your time. Courtney. We'll start with you. Could you give us a bit of an overview about the open day?

Yeah, absolutely. On Saturday the 8th of June 2024, we're hosting a day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. where we're inviting children, young people, their friends, families, their school teams and the general community to come along and learn a little bit about what we do, particularly with our children and young people here at Vision Australia in relation to our life ready approach. And this is where we're supporting children and young people to do what they need to do now, but also to prepare for their future, whatever they would like that to be, and making sure that they have a skill set that includes nine essential life skill areas that children and young people who are blind or have low vision need, in addition to the core skills that every child needs to be successful.

Yeah, absolutely. On Saturday the 8th of June 2024, we're hosting a day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. where we're inviting children, young people, their friends, families, their school teams and the general community to come along and learn a little bit about what we do, particularly with our children and young people here at Vision Australia in relation to our life ready approach. And this is where we're supporting children and young people to do what they need to do now, but also to prepare for their future, whatever they would like that to be, and making sure that they have a skill set that includes nine essential life skill areas that children and young people who are blind or have low vision need, in addition to the core skills that every child needs to be successful.

And Courtney, could you tell us a little bit more about your involvement in the day overall?

And Courtney, could you tell us a little bit more about your involvement in the day overall?

Yeah, so I'm coordinating the day, which means I have the wonderful privilege of working with all of the talented folks that we're about to talk to today, plus all of the wonderful pediatric therapists that I'm involved with in my team and a range of other people who are coming along, especially to support the day. Among the kinds of things that I'm involved in is supporting the teams to set up our different stations, and we have stations ranging from workshops on cooking, coding, craft, we have storytimes, we have some physical workshops which include rugby skills and self defense. I'm also doing a lot of liaising with our stallholders. So our community partners who will be in on the day. For example, we have Carers Queensland coming along to provide NDIS information. We have Goalball Queensland coming along to provide information about that sport, and we have the Queensland Academy of Sport and Uq's Para start coming along to talk about sporting opportunities in our community, for people that just want to get involved and all the way through to elite sports.

Yeah, so I'm coordinating the day, which means I have the wonderful privilege of working with all of the talented folks that we're about to talk to today, plus all of the wonderful pediatric therapists that I'm involved with in my team and a range of other people who are coming along, especially to support the day. Among the kinds of things that I'm involved in is supporting the teams to set up our different stations, and we have stations ranging from workshops on cooking, coding, craft, we have storytimes, we have some physical workshops which include rugby skills and self defense. I'm also doing a lot of liaising with our stallholders. So our community partners who will be in on the day. For example, we have Carers Queensland coming along to provide NDIS information. We have Goalball Queensland coming along to provide information about that sport, and we have the Queensland Academy of Sport and Uq's Para start coming along to talk about sporting opportunities in our community, for people that just want to get involved and all the way through to elite sports.

That sounds absolutely action packed. There a lot of things for people to look forward to, but what I'm looking forward to right now is just going around the room and having a chat to all of you and giving you a chance to sort of introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about your involvement in the day. Mel, I think I'll start with you.

That sounds absolutely action packed. There a lot of things for people to look forward to, but what I'm looking forward to right now is just going around the room and having a chat to all of you and giving you a chance to sort of introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about your involvement in the day. Mel, I think I'll start with you.

Hi. Yeah. So I'm a professional psychologist in the area of health. I'm doing my placement here at Vision Australia from the University of Queensland. My involvement is to support the family engagement within the open day, as well as onto the life ready platform. The Life Ready Hub is made up of engagement with families, as well as their service providers, to teach the independent skills to children. It's part of the expanded core curriculum. Um, and as Courtney mentioned, you know, there's nine areas which we've expanded into this wonderful platform. It's online, but it's interactive as well. For example, a child can listen to a podcast and they can interact with it with dancing moves, with talking. You know, the areas, um, of independence include things like how do you pack your bag for camp, that sort of thing. So we're talking about giving these skills to children from a very young age. And then as they move up through its intergenerational change that we're making, we have children that are ready to engage in employment. And yeah.

Hi. Yeah. So I'm a professional psychologist in the area of health. I'm doing my placement here at Vision Australia from the University of Queensland. My involvement is to support the family engagement within the open day, as well as onto the life ready platform. The Life Ready Hub is made up of engagement with families, as well as their service providers, to teach the independent skills to children. It's part of the expanded core curriculum. Um, and as Courtney mentioned, you know, there's nine areas which we've expanded into this wonderful platform. It's online, but it's interactive as well. For example, a child can listen to a podcast and they can interact with it with dancing moves, with talking. You know, the areas, um, of independence include things like how do you pack your bag for camp, that sort of thing. So we're talking about giving these skills to children from a very young age. And then as they move up through its intergenerational change that we're making, we have children that are ready to engage in employment. And yeah.

Amish, I'll go to you. Could you give us a bit of an intro? Tell us a bit about your involvement in the day?

Amish, I'll go to you. Could you give us a bit of an intro? Tell us a bit about your involvement in the day?

Yes. So, hi. So as you all know, my name is Amish. And so my role in the Open Day for Vision Australia will be getting kids involved in text based games on computer and getting them familiar with, um, programs such as Zoomtext. And so my role will be just to get them familiar with the software and sort of help them out and get them engaged in some of these educational games that they can play for all ages. A lot of.

Yes. So, hi. So as you all know, my name is Amish. And so my role in the Open Day for Vision Australia will be getting kids involved in text based games on computer and getting them familiar with, um, programs such as Zoomtext. And so my role will be just to get them familiar with the software and sort of help them out and get them engaged in some of these educational games that they can play for all ages. A lot of.

Things there, and a lot of fun games for people to try out. So look forward to hearing about that. But for now, Donna, I'll come to you. Could you give us a bit of an intro and tell us about your involvement in the Open Day?

Things there, and a lot of fun games for people to try out. So look forward to hearing about that. But for now, Donna, I'll come to you. Could you give us a bit of an intro and tell us about your involvement in the Open Day?

Absolutely. So hello, my name is Donna Dyson and I am one of the national ambassadors for Vision Australia, which is. A role that I take very seriously and advocate and try and role model wherever I can best practice. And the enablement of folk with blind or low vision experiences. So that is my connection through to Vision Australia, who have been incredibly supportive for me from the very beginning of my sight loss journey. My world is all about children. I have served children and worked with children, which is my heart space and I believe just this incredible calling upon my life to do so, to do that, and it's a gift to be able to continue to do that, post my sight loss, and to be able to do it in such a significant way that I know that it reaches children sighted and not sighted all around the world. And that's a far greater reach than what I could probably be able to do as a lecturer at a university where we're teaching teachers how to teach. And then those teachers go out to the schools, and that's a pretty broad reach. But maybe my sight loss has been a blessing to be able to reach absolutely millions of children around the world. And I will never see them. I will never know them. I will never meet them. But I know they're there because of our statistics, and I have to wake up with a purpose and know that this is an incredible blessing and a privilege to be able to serve children in this way. Now, very different to the way that I previously did it. And I grieve my profession greatly, but this is a different way of serving. And so I'm really honored to be able to share some of that music at this wonderful gathering on June the 8th in my hometown of Brisbane, which is lovely with this wonderful team. And Courtney's guidance and leadership within the children's services is phenomenal. So I'm really excited to be able to work with this team and showcase some of the music for the little people. It'll be wonderful and their families, but it is something that that's a children's label is Spotty Kites. It's something that is very much tailored for families, carers, supporters, etc. it's not just for children, it's a very educated, it's a very holistic kind of approach. So this will be wonderful to be able to share and join in the day.

Absolutely. So hello, my name is Donna Dyson and I am one of the national ambassadors for Vision Australia, which is. A role that I take very seriously and advocate and try and role model wherever I can best practice. And the enablement of folk with blind or low vision experiences. So that is my connection through to Vision Australia, who have been incredibly supportive for me from the very beginning of my sight loss journey. My world is all about children. I have served children and worked with children, which is my heart space and I believe just this incredible calling upon my life to do so, to do that, and it's a gift to be able to continue to do that, post my sight loss, and to be able to do it in such a significant way that I know that it reaches children sighted and not sighted all around the world. And that's a far greater reach than what I could probably be able to do as a lecturer at a university where we're teaching teachers how to teach. And then those teachers go out to the schools, and that's a pretty broad reach. But maybe my sight loss has been a blessing to be able to reach absolutely millions of children around the world. And I will never see them. I will never know them. I will never meet them. But I know they're there because of our statistics, and I have to wake up with a purpose and know that this is an incredible blessing and a privilege to be able to serve children in this way. Now, very different to the way that I previously did it. And I grieve my profession greatly, but this is a different way of serving. And so I'm really honored to be able to share some of that music at this wonderful gathering on June the 8th in my hometown of Brisbane, which is lovely with this wonderful team. And Courtney's guidance and leadership within the children's services is phenomenal. So I'm really excited to be able to work with this team and showcase some of the music for the little people. It'll be wonderful and their families, but it is something that that's a children's label is Spotty Kites. It's something that is very much tailored for families, carers, supporters, etc. it's not just for children, it's a very educated, it's a very holistic kind of approach. So this will be wonderful to be able to share and join in the day.

Donna, thank you so much for sharing your story and the amazing things that you have been involved with and continue to be involved with going into the future, but for the time being, I think I'll go back to Courtney to wrap up. Courtney, if you could just give us the basic details of the open day and how can people find out a little bit more about it if they need to register all those sort of things?

Donna, thank you so much for sharing your story and the amazing things that you have been involved with and continue to be involved with going into the future, but for the time being, I think I'll go back to Courtney to wrap up. Courtney, if you could just give us the basic details of the open day and how can people find out a little bit more about it if they need to register all those sort of things?

Yeah, absolutely. And just in summing up to the involvement of Mel and Mission Donna. So Mel, as she mentioned, will be on our sign up station enabling parents families to sign up for our Life ready hub alongside Trish and Mesh will be on our World Domination station, supporting kids to get involved in accessible gaming and other people who might be interested there too. And Donna will be both up on stage with spotty kites and also in our story station doing a reading for us and a mission. Donna will be, as I will be wandering about the site wearing a badge that says mentor. Ask me about my career. And that's an invitation to parents, families, educators, members of the public to learn a lot more about what is possible for people who are blind or have low vision, and certainly little people and young adults too, who might be interested in considering lots of different career options for themselves. So the day, just as a reminder, is on Saturday, the 8th of June 2024 at our Coop Guru site in Brisbane. So that's 373 Old Cleveland Road, Cooper to. Just to note that our parking area will actually be occupied with things like our stage for our live music, our outdoor seating area, our coffee and snack van, our sausage sizzle and a number of community partner stalls so they won't be any parking on site. So anybody who'd like to attend on the day can come via the 204 bus, which arrives right at our front door or just across the road. They can also get dropped off by taxis and rideshare at the rear entrance to our site, which is the very end of Talbot Street in Cubaroo. So if you ask your driver to bring you to the very end of Talbot Street in Cooper, that's our rear entrance and we'll have some guides there to guide you onto the site. And of course, there's lots of parking in the local area like Talbot Street, Leicester Street and also Cooper Square has some really great parking available. And if you'd like to register for the day, you can go on to Vision Australia's website at Vision Australia. Org and we have an event there. If you go to our events section and look for. V.A. open day in Peru. That's where you'll be able to find out more about the day itself and to register. Or you could simply email children and young people QLD at Vision Australia. Org. And I'll say that one more time it's children and young people QLD or one word at Vision Australia or one word.org.

Yeah, absolutely. And just in summing up to the involvement of Mel and Mission Donna. So Mel, as she mentioned, will be on our sign up station enabling parents families to sign up for our Life ready hub alongside Trish and Mesh will be on our World Domination station, supporting kids to get involved in accessible gaming and other people who might be interested there too. And Donna will be both up on stage with spotty kites and also in our story station doing a reading for us and a mission. Donna will be, as I will be wandering about the site wearing a badge that says mentor. Ask me about my career. And that's an invitation to parents, families, educators, members of the public to learn a lot more about what is possible for people who are blind or have low vision, and certainly little people and young adults too, who might be interested in considering lots of different career options for themselves. So the day, just as a reminder, is on Saturday, the 8th of June 2024 at our Coop Guru site in Brisbane. So that's 373 Old Cleveland Road, Cooper to. Just to note that our parking area will actually be occupied with things like our stage for our live music, our outdoor seating area, our coffee and snack van, our sausage sizzle and a number of community partner stalls so they won't be any parking on site. So anybody who'd like to attend on the day can come via the 204 bus, which arrives right at our front door or just across the road. They can also get dropped off by taxis and rideshare at the rear entrance to our site, which is the very end of Talbot Street in Cubaroo. So if you ask your driver to bring you to the very end of Talbot Street in Cooper, that's our rear entrance and we'll have some guides there to guide you onto the site. And of course, there's lots of parking in the local area like Talbot Street, Leicester Street and also Cooper Square has some really great parking available. And if you'd like to register for the day, you can go on to Vision Australia's website at Vision Australia. Org and we have an event there. If you go to our events section and look for. V.A. open day in Peru. That's where you'll be able to find out more about the day itself and to register. Or you could simply email children and young people QLD at Vision Australia. Org. And I'll say that one more time it's children and young people QLD or one word at Vision Australia or one word.org.

I've been speaking today with Courtney McKay, Mel Bligh, Alicia Morley and Donna Dawson all involved in the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day taking place in Brisbane at the corporate office on the 8th of June. I'm Sam Cully and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of Reading Radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Courtney Ermisch, Donna and Mel. We only just scratched the surface of Donna's story on Talking Vision today, so if you'd love to hear the full interview, it will be available on the Vision Australia Podcast feed as an interview highlight, so make sure to look out for that one. Or if you'd love to listen to the whole program. Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website, VA radio.org. Or of course you can find the program on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. And now coming up next on Talking Vision. I speak with Barry from Vision Australia Radio in Bendigo. 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 Levinei 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.

I've been speaking today with Courtney McKay, Mel Bligh, Alicia Morley and Donna Dawson all involved in the upcoming Vision Australia Open Day taking place in Brisbane at the corporate office on the 8th of June. I'm Sam Cully and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of Reading Radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Courtney Ermisch, Donna and Mel. We only just scratched the surface of Donna's story on Talking Vision today, so if you'd love to hear the full interview, it will be available on the Vision Australia Podcast feed as an interview highlight, so make sure to look out for that one. Or if you'd love to listen to the whole program. Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website, VA radio.org. Or of course you can find the program on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. And now coming up next on Talking Vision. I speak with Barry from Vision Australia Radio in Bendigo. 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 Levinei 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 Sunraysia Daily program. I do that once a week on Wednesday afternoons. I do the Uncertainty Principle 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 or 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 Sunraysia Daily program. I do that once a week on Wednesday afternoons. I do the Uncertainty Principle 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 or 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 it all by the sounds. So. Yeah. No, it's, 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 it all by the sounds. So. Yeah. No, it's, 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 program 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 program? 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 organized 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 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 program 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 program? 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 organized 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 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 millimeter 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 millimeter 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 favorite 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 favorite 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 as 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 program, 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. Of what I do.

I think the things I remember as 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 program, 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. 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? Well, I.

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.

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 Levinei, the one of the hard working volunteers at the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo. It is with deep sadness that we announce Dorothy Hamilton OAM has passed away at the age of 97. Many of you will know Dorothy through her excellent reputation nationally as a highly experienced music teacher and transcriber who kept high standards, as well as sparring those standards in her students and colleagues in the 50s. Dorothy taught at Korowa Anglican Girls School, where she filled a maternity position, teaching singing, choir, piano and recorder. At the end of her term, the headmistress liked her so much that she is reported to have said the only replacement she would hire for the position was another blind person, and true to her word, Allan, Dorothy's brother who was also blind, was the successful incumbent and taught for a further nine years. Her work at Vision Australia began in transcription as a proofreader on the 8th of August 1977. She began with the frame and stylus and then learned to work with the Perkins Brailler. Then, in the early 90s, Dorothy introduced the use of refreshable braille to Braille music. Transcription. Dorothy was a pioneer using this technology, and Australia was the first to adopt such a process whereby blind people transcribe their own music rather than perforating a sighted employee's work. Dorothy's work. Training and transcribing with volunteer readers over the 45 years she transcribed with Vision Australia is really very special, and the friendships they formed during the shared task of completing work for students and adults all over Australia were lifelong. In 1986, the National Braille Music Camp was established to immerse braille reading upper primary and secondary school aged students in Braille music, along with other blind colleagues. Dorothy would transcribe the majority of the camp music each year. She also encouraged and greatly assisted one of her readers, John Shute OAM, who took it upon himself to learn the Braille music code and transcribe music for the camp for many years. Dorothy taught for over 25 years at the National Braille Music Camp, and many of the students who resided interstate would have regular phone contact with her during the year in order to gain assistance with completing their Ameb theory examinations. Students would send her their work, and she would correct it over the phone when a Braille music teacher was not available to them in their area. Dorothy made a huge contribution to Braille music in Australia. Her encouragement of blind students to take on music as a career is something many of us will remember, but also her emphasis on the importance of maintaining high standards of Braille music transcription and application. In theory and performance. Dorothy was a true inspiration to the Braille music community of Australia and will be deeply missed. And that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Colly saying bye for now.

Certainly. Well, thank you very much for your time today, Barry. I've been speaking today with Barry Levinei, the one of the hard working volunteers at the Vision Australia radio service in Bendigo. It is with deep sadness that we announce Dorothy Hamilton OAM has passed away at the age of 97. Many of you will know Dorothy through her excellent reputation nationally as a highly experienced music teacher and transcriber who kept high standards, as well as sparring those standards in her students and colleagues in the 50s. Dorothy taught at Korowa Anglican Girls School, where she filled a maternity position, teaching singing, choir, piano and recorder. At the end of her term, the headmistress liked her so much that she is reported to have said the only replacement she would hire for the position was another blind person, and true to her word, Allan, Dorothy's brother who was also blind, was the successful incumbent and taught for a further nine years. Her work at Vision Australia began in transcription as a proofreader on the 8th of August 1977. She began with the frame and stylus and then learned to work with the Perkins Brailler. Then, in the early 90s, Dorothy introduced the use of refreshable braille to Braille music. Transcription. Dorothy was a pioneer using this technology, and Australia was the first to adopt such a process whereby blind people transcribe their own music rather than perforating a sighted employee's work. Dorothy's work. Training and transcribing with volunteer readers over the 45 years she transcribed with Vision Australia is really very special, and the friendships they formed during the shared task of completing work for students and adults all over Australia were lifelong. In 1986, the National Braille Music Camp was established to immerse braille reading upper primary and secondary school aged students in Braille music, along with other blind colleagues. Dorothy would transcribe the majority of the camp music each year. She also encouraged and greatly assisted one of her readers, John Shute OAM, who took it upon himself to learn the Braille music code and transcribe music for the camp for many years. Dorothy taught for over 25 years at the National Braille Music Camp, and many of the students who resided interstate would have regular phone contact with her during the year in order to gain assistance with completing their Ameb theory examinations. Students would send her their work, and she would correct it over the phone when a Braille music teacher was not available to them in their area. Dorothy made a huge contribution to Braille music in Australia. Her encouragement of blind students to take on music as a career is something many of us will remember, but also her emphasis on the importance of maintaining high standards of Braille music transcription and application. In theory and performance. Dorothy was a true inspiration to the Braille music community of Australia and will be deeply missed. And that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Colly saying bye for now.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's one (300) 847-4106 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's one (300) 847-4106 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.