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

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

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.

People with disabilities have their disabilities created by the ignorance and intolerance of the world around them, not by themselves. And I think the more we can do to bring forward the really great capabilities of people who are in the blindness and low vision community, to have them being first choice for jobs and living in an environment that really suits and is built for them. It's just a really important challenge for all Australians.

People with disabilities have their disabilities created by the ignorance and intolerance of the world around them, not by themselves. And I think the more we can do to bring forward the really great capabilities of people who are in the blindness and low vision community, to have them being first choice for jobs and living in an environment that really suits and is built for them. It's just a really important challenge for all Australians.

Welcome to the program. We've got a jam packed show for you this week with some big news from Vision Australia CEO Ron Horton, who will be finishing up as CEO as of the 2nd of August. You'll hear from Ron later on in the show as I catch up with him on Talking Vision to take a look back over the past 11.5 years, but also look to the future and find out what perhaps may be next in store for him down the track. But before you hear from Ron, I catch up with Daniel Fenech, the director of the Blind See, a documentary featuring blind surfer, cyclist and Paralympian Matt Formston which will be coming out in August, so make sure to check your local cinemas. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the show this week, I chat with Daniel Fenech. I began the conversation with Daniel by asking him to give an overview of his documentary, The Blind See?

Welcome to the program. We've got a jam packed show for you this week with some big news from Vision Australia CEO Ron Horton, who will be finishing up as CEO as of the 2nd of August. You'll hear from Ron later on in the show as I catch up with him on Talking Vision to take a look back over the past 11.5 years, but also look to the future and find out what perhaps may be next in store for him down the track. But before you hear from Ron, I catch up with Daniel Fenech, the director of the Blind See, a documentary featuring blind surfer, cyclist and Paralympian Matt Formston which will be coming out in August, so make sure to check your local cinemas. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the show this week, I chat with Daniel Fenech. I began the conversation with Daniel by asking him to give an overview of his documentary, The Blind See?

Sure. So the Blind See is a documentary. It's about former Paralympic cyclist and four time world champion para surfer Matt Formston, who a lot of your listeners are at Vision Australia might have heard of before, is quite proactive with the VA community. So this is a documentary on Matt's life. But, you know, as part of, I guess, the adventure of of following somebody to do a documentary, we actually followed him on his journey to go big wave surfing. So we took Matt to Nazaré where he surfed what turned out to be a world record wave for a male visually impaired so far.

Sure. So the Blind See is a documentary. It's about former Paralympic cyclist and four time world champion para surfer Matt Formston, who a lot of your listeners are at Vision Australia might have heard of before, is quite proactive with the VA community. So this is a documentary on Matt's life. But, you know, as part of, I guess, the adventure of of following somebody to do a documentary, we actually followed him on his journey to go big wave surfing. So we took Matt to Nazaré where he surfed what turned out to be a world record wave for a male visually impaired so far.

Oh my God. Okay. Yeah. That's amazing. Tell me about that world record wave that Matt was involved with. I'm pretty sure not only myself, but a lot of the listeners out there, probably full of questions like, you know, how does that even happen? How do you set up the opportunity for, you know, something like that to even come about?

Oh my God. Okay. Yeah. That's amazing. Tell me about that world record wave that Matt was involved with. I'm pretty sure not only myself, but a lot of the listeners out there, probably full of questions like, you know, how does that even happen? How do you set up the opportunity for, you know, something like that to even come about?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was that caught us by surprise, actually. So when we set out to make this film, we were actually planning on shooting it exclusively in Australia. There's plenty of great spots all along the East coast. And what unfortunately happened for us is, you know, obviously weather changes and things. We didn't get the swells that we were looking for. So that year in pre through Covid we didn't get the monster winter swells that normally happen. And then the following year when we did get into production didn't happen either. And I turned to Dylan Longbottom who's our kind of Mr. Miyagi of the movie. He's like a big wave legend. He's a surfboard shaper, makes all the, you know, the big wave surfboards. You know, for all the pro big wave surfers like Chumbo and Justine. So I turned to Dylan. I go, mate, we're not really having any luck in Australia. Do you think we can get married to Nasreen back alive? Dylan thought for a minute. Oh, yeah, 100%. So, you know, we, you know, scrambled. A month later, we're on a plane off to Portugal, and we get there and like the whole lead up to it, there was like, weather reports saying, Big Mama's coming. Big Mama's coming. And for those who know, who don't know how it kind of works, they're big. Mama is like the big 100 foot wave that everyone dreams of. So we had two weather systems that were going to collide and create Big Mama, and we're going to get like The Ride of a life. And Matt was like training hard. He's doing his breath holes and his toe training and everything that he had to do to prepare himself because he, you know, it was coming. And it turns out Big Mama didn't come. And there was just this monster mash up of storms and whitewash, and we actually couldn't get Matty out onto the water until the last day, which was extremely stressful. So when we finally did get out there, Marty had a pretty good run. And that last wave, um, we saw it. We all just could not believe what we saw. And Maddy picked up a world record. You know, we had it measured and we had it certified and yeah, picked up a Guinness World Record for the largest wave surfed by a vision impaired male at 50 something feet, which is a five story building. So he was surfing a five story building at about 70km an hour.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was that caught us by surprise, actually. So when we set out to make this film, we were actually planning on shooting it exclusively in Australia. There's plenty of great spots all along the East coast. And what unfortunately happened for us is, you know, obviously weather changes and things. We didn't get the swells that we were looking for. So that year in pre through Covid we didn't get the monster winter swells that normally happen. And then the following year when we did get into production didn't happen either. And I turned to Dylan Longbottom who's our kind of Mr. Miyagi of the movie. He's like a big wave legend. He's a surfboard shaper, makes all the, you know, the big wave surfboards. You know, for all the pro big wave surfers like Chumbo and Justine. So I turned to Dylan. I go, mate, we're not really having any luck in Australia. Do you think we can get married to Nasreen back alive? Dylan thought for a minute. Oh, yeah, 100%. So, you know, we, you know, scrambled. A month later, we're on a plane off to Portugal, and we get there and like the whole lead up to it, there was like, weather reports saying, Big Mama's coming. Big Mama's coming. And for those who know, who don't know how it kind of works, they're big. Mama is like the big 100 foot wave that everyone dreams of. So we had two weather systems that were going to collide and create Big Mama, and we're going to get like The Ride of a life. And Matt was like training hard. He's doing his breath holes and his toe training and everything that he had to do to prepare himself because he, you know, it was coming. And it turns out Big Mama didn't come. And there was just this monster mash up of storms and whitewash, and we actually couldn't get Matty out onto the water until the last day, which was extremely stressful. So when we finally did get out there, Marty had a pretty good run. And that last wave, um, we saw it. We all just could not believe what we saw. And Maddy picked up a world record. You know, we had it measured and we had it certified and yeah, picked up a Guinness World Record for the largest wave surfed by a vision impaired male at 50 something feet, which is a five story building. So he was surfing a five story building at about 70km an hour.

Oh my God. That's incredible. And, yeah, you've got something else in store for us on the end of that as well.

Oh my God. That's incredible. And, yeah, you've got something else in store for us on the end of that as well.

Yes, yes, yes. One of the things that was really interesting, because I don't serve, one of the things I found really interesting was that apart from riding the wave, one of the best moments when you're surfing is those conversations you have out back with your mates. So you paddle out the back and you're sitting on the board and you're waiting for your set to come. And those are some of the best moments and memories people have. Waterproof microphones don't really exist, and the kind of coming through now, but we rigged up some specialist microphones that could record locally, so we actually waterproof these microphones and sent the boys out back with these microphones on. So one of the things about this film is it's all about inclusion. Well, that's one of our key themes. And you get to see people from all over the world with all different skill sets, helping me achieve his dream. And one of the ways we demonstrated that was having those microphones. And I don't even know if there is a movie out there yet where you can hear so clearly what goes on. But you can, you know, you can hear them cheering and psyching Maddie up and all those moments that lead up to riding that wave. And you can see how hard it is because because you were invited into that world and you're part of that journey. And that's something that we're quite proud of as well. It's like you get to peer behind the curtain and see, like everything that goes on, which is exciting.

Yes, yes, yes. One of the things that was really interesting, because I don't serve, one of the things I found really interesting was that apart from riding the wave, one of the best moments when you're surfing is those conversations you have out back with your mates. So you paddle out the back and you're sitting on the board and you're waiting for your set to come. And those are some of the best moments and memories people have. Waterproof microphones don't really exist, and the kind of coming through now, but we rigged up some specialist microphones that could record locally, so we actually waterproof these microphones and sent the boys out back with these microphones on. So one of the things about this film is it's all about inclusion. Well, that's one of our key themes. And you get to see people from all over the world with all different skill sets, helping me achieve his dream. And one of the ways we demonstrated that was having those microphones. And I don't even know if there is a movie out there yet where you can hear so clearly what goes on. But you can, you know, you can hear them cheering and psyching Maddie up and all those moments that lead up to riding that wave. And you can see how hard it is because because you were invited into that world and you're part of that journey. And that's something that we're quite proud of as well. It's like you get to peer behind the curtain and see, like everything that goes on, which is exciting.

Speaking of those little sounds you pick up and all that sort of thing, you've been quite involved with quite a few people on the soundtrack. A lot of indie artists and a lot of people who've contributed to the music for the film. So tell us a bit about them.

Speaking of those little sounds you pick up and all that sort of thing, you've been quite involved with quite a few people on the soundtrack. A lot of indie artists and a lot of people who've contributed to the music for the film. So tell us a bit about them.

Yeah, yeah. So obviously the sound design is extremely important. We've got a great review, someone saying that this film has to be heard just as much as seen. We put a lot of effort into the sound and obviously the guys at massive were incredible. We have a composer who composed a couple of like the key moments in the film, like pivotal emotional scenes with being an indie film, our budgets were like tiny, tiny, tiny. So one of the things that I did was I reached out to a whole stack of indie musicians that I like and I follow, and I said, hey, look, you've got this track here or that track there. It's beautiful, you know? How do you feel about it being in a movie because it fits so well. And a lot of these musicians were like, well, if you like that, I've got this whole library of just like little ditties and things. So the majority of the film, I'm quite proud of this because we're an indie production company. It's an indie film, but the majority of the music was produced by indie musicians as well. So unsigned artists who are out there week after week just peddling their music and their career, you know, got an opportunity to have their music played at the Sydney Film Festival in a few weeks. We're playing at the Sydney Opera House. Like they get to have their music on one of the biggest platforms in the country, and we're so stoked we can all come together for this.

Yeah, yeah. So obviously the sound design is extremely important. We've got a great review, someone saying that this film has to be heard just as much as seen. We put a lot of effort into the sound and obviously the guys at massive were incredible. We have a composer who composed a couple of like the key moments in the film, like pivotal emotional scenes with being an indie film, our budgets were like tiny, tiny, tiny. So one of the things that I did was I reached out to a whole stack of indie musicians that I like and I follow, and I said, hey, look, you've got this track here or that track there. It's beautiful, you know? How do you feel about it being in a movie because it fits so well. And a lot of these musicians were like, well, if you like that, I've got this whole library of just like little ditties and things. So the majority of the film, I'm quite proud of this because we're an indie production company. It's an indie film, but the majority of the music was produced by indie musicians as well. So unsigned artists who are out there week after week just peddling their music and their career, you know, got an opportunity to have their music played at the Sydney Film Festival in a few weeks. We're playing at the Sydney Opera House. Like they get to have their music on one of the biggest platforms in the country, and we're so stoked we can all come together for this.

Yeah. That's amazing. Hopefully it launches a few careers. Yes. Keep our fingers crossed there for sure. Now, Dan, I want to go back to that relationship between you and Matt in particular. Had you known Matt for quite a while, how did you get connected up with him?

Yeah. That's amazing. Hopefully it launches a few careers. Yes. Keep our fingers crossed there for sure. Now, Dan, I want to go back to that relationship between you and Matt in particular. Had you known Matt for quite a while, how did you get connected up with him?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'd known Matty for quite a while. We both worked together at Optus, which is his day job, and I was making content for his Rio Paralympic cycling campaign. So that's when I first met Manuel shooting stuff together. And and I always said to him, I said, look, you've got a really good story. It's pretty inspiring, but it's also really interesting and you should really think about getting a documentary made. And it turns out I wasn't the only person that had been saying it to him. And, you know, a couple of years later, I'd moved on and, you know, we'd stayed in contact. And he goes, oh, Dan, I'm ready to tell my story. And I'm like, dude, I think I'm ready to tell it. Because back then I was just coming up through the ranks. And, you know, I'd sort of gotten a lot better over the years, like, can you let me have a crack? And that was it. It was just, you know, trust both ways. So it sort of took us about a year or so to develop the story and get the initial sort of funding in place. Um, and then once that first sponsor jumped on board, it kind of like it just, you know, just sort of like steamrolled after that. And then the whole project itself took about four years from start to finish. Wow.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'd known Matty for quite a while. We both worked together at Optus, which is his day job, and I was making content for his Rio Paralympic cycling campaign. So that's when I first met Manuel shooting stuff together. And and I always said to him, I said, look, you've got a really good story. It's pretty inspiring, but it's also really interesting and you should really think about getting a documentary made. And it turns out I wasn't the only person that had been saying it to him. And, you know, a couple of years later, I'd moved on and, you know, we'd stayed in contact. And he goes, oh, Dan, I'm ready to tell my story. And I'm like, dude, I think I'm ready to tell it. Because back then I was just coming up through the ranks. And, you know, I'd sort of gotten a lot better over the years, like, can you let me have a crack? And that was it. It was just, you know, trust both ways. So it sort of took us about a year or so to develop the story and get the initial sort of funding in place. Um, and then once that first sponsor jumped on board, it kind of like it just, you know, just sort of like steamrolled after that. And then the whole project itself took about four years from start to finish. Wow.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty incredible. And that's four year journey. And then you know, and the start of that was um, in amongst Covid and all the curveballs that that threw and um, your direction no doubt. But um, so which is good for.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty incredible. And that's four year journey. And then you know, and the start of that was um, in amongst Covid and all the curveballs that that threw and um, your direction no doubt. But um, so which is good for.

Us for um, because we developed all the pre through Covid, so we didn't really have to go anywhere. There was no distractions. Oh That was help. That turned out really helpful. But yeah, the first shoot was like straight after the gates had opened and they let international travel happen. So they were like straight out there to get started. Wow.

Us for um, because we developed all the pre through Covid, so we didn't really have to go anywhere. There was no distractions. Oh That was help. That turned out really helpful. But yeah, the first shoot was like straight after the gates had opened and they let international travel happen. So they were like straight out there to get started. Wow.

That's unbelievable. Give us a bit of an insight into those four years, what the process was like there and all that sort of thing. What was that like for you and the team?

That's unbelievable. Give us a bit of an insight into those four years, what the process was like there and all that sort of thing. What was that like for you and the team?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I spent a lot of time with Matty just chatting about his story and the legacy he wanted to leave. What sort of, you know, messages that were kind of important to him, or life lessons that were important to him and kind of who was in his circle. So as a filmmaker, I was doing a lot of that groundwork just to work out what the story was going to be and how we were going to tell it. And then aesthetically, I spoke to Matt at length about movies, too, because obviously Matt's got like 3% vision. He's got macular dystrophy. So he only sees in his peripherals like maybe how do you watch movies? So we spoke a lot about what worked for him, what didn't work for him. And it kind of shaped the way we built the whole edit from those initial conversations. So, you know, some of the things that we applied is we kept characters to an absolute minimum. So there's still a handful of characters, but, you know, there's not too many people. And the other thing too, is I actually watched a lot of movies without the vision on just to put myself in that perspective. So yeah, limiting the amount of characters was pretty important. So that way it wasn't too disorientating and we used quite a lot of observational sequences. So a lot of the cues that Marty and I'm sure a lot of your listeners would use when you just sort of out and about in public, like, you know, you get a feel for a person's personality through their mannerisms and their intonation and the way they speak and just sort of allowing the scene to have those moments. You can kind of bond, I guess, with the characters on screen. And then also found that documentaries that were just like, you know, one person talks and then you cut to another person talking, and then there's just overlay vision, but it's just two people, three people backwards and forwards talking. You kind of lose track of who's who. So we kind of kept all that sort of talking head to a minimum. But yeah, we just let a lot of the observational sequences happen and we spent quite a lot of time in sound design too. So the crew over at Massive Music were just incredible, the way that they handled the sound design, like a lot of detail, like we did, you know, not just like the diegetic soundscape when you're outside and in the environment, but also things like, we took Matt for an eye test for Doctor Sam and just having all the little gadgets and gizmos and touching and just all those sounds that you would hear. They cleaned a lot of that up because we had microphones and they exposed a little bit cleaner and all that, but even and then even things like when Matt's out on the wave and it's really dramatic and all the music stops, you can still hear the surfboard slicing through the water, so you still can track what's going on. So that was a big thing for us, was to kind of make it the film as accessible as possible. And then obviously chatting with Michael over at Vision Australia, he actually wrote the script for the audio description. So having a blind audience catered for with this film was pretty paramount for us.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I spent a lot of time with Matty just chatting about his story and the legacy he wanted to leave. What sort of, you know, messages that were kind of important to him, or life lessons that were important to him and kind of who was in his circle. So as a filmmaker, I was doing a lot of that groundwork just to work out what the story was going to be and how we were going to tell it. And then aesthetically, I spoke to Matt at length about movies, too, because obviously Matt's got like 3% vision. He's got macular dystrophy. So he only sees in his peripherals like maybe how do you watch movies? So we spoke a lot about what worked for him, what didn't work for him. And it kind of shaped the way we built the whole edit from those initial conversations. So, you know, some of the things that we applied is we kept characters to an absolute minimum. So there's still a handful of characters, but, you know, there's not too many people. And the other thing too, is I actually watched a lot of movies without the vision on just to put myself in that perspective. So yeah, limiting the amount of characters was pretty important. So that way it wasn't too disorientating and we used quite a lot of observational sequences. So a lot of the cues that Marty and I'm sure a lot of your listeners would use when you just sort of out and about in public, like, you know, you get a feel for a person's personality through their mannerisms and their intonation and the way they speak and just sort of allowing the scene to have those moments. You can kind of bond, I guess, with the characters on screen. And then also found that documentaries that were just like, you know, one person talks and then you cut to another person talking, and then there's just overlay vision, but it's just two people, three people backwards and forwards talking. You kind of lose track of who's who. So we kind of kept all that sort of talking head to a minimum. But yeah, we just let a lot of the observational sequences happen and we spent quite a lot of time in sound design too. So the crew over at Massive Music were just incredible, the way that they handled the sound design, like a lot of detail, like we did, you know, not just like the diegetic soundscape when you're outside and in the environment, but also things like, we took Matt for an eye test for Doctor Sam and just having all the little gadgets and gizmos and touching and just all those sounds that you would hear. They cleaned a lot of that up because we had microphones and they exposed a little bit cleaner and all that, but even and then even things like when Matt's out on the wave and it's really dramatic and all the music stops, you can still hear the surfboard slicing through the water, so you still can track what's going on. So that was a big thing for us, was to kind of make it the film as accessible as possible. And then obviously chatting with Michael over at Vision Australia, he actually wrote the script for the audio description. So having a blind audience catered for with this film was pretty paramount for us.

Oh yeah, and on that topic of audio description, how much did you know about audio description before you started working with Matt and with Vision Australia and the Blind and Low Vision community, was that something you'd always had in your mind as a filmmaker? A sort of in there as something to, you know, make these sort of things accessible? What's that been like? Yeah.

Oh yeah, and on that topic of audio description, how much did you know about audio description before you started working with Matt and with Vision Australia and the Blind and Low Vision community, was that something you'd always had in your mind as a filmmaker? A sort of in there as something to, you know, make these sort of things accessible? What's that been like? Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I've never listened to audio description. I knew it existed, but I never have, never had a need. So I sort of never worried about it. So I did watch a few films with it and, you know, some of it, some of the films, they put out ads and they just seem lazy, you know, it's just like a statement here and a statement there. And what Michael brought to it is he really brought a sense of poetry to like scene descriptions and just contextualizing the vision. So even the voiceover artist, she was like, man, this is probably twice as long as a normal audio description script for me. So there's like, you know, obviously, you know, we kind of want to be best in class with that kind of thing. But I know Maddie doesn't really watch with audio description too much. So as much as I understand that it's great for the low vision community to have it, there's going to be people who don't want it. That's where the observational sequences and all those sort of little tricks came into play. So that way it's kind of however you want to consume this film, you've got an option for you.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I've never listened to audio description. I knew it existed, but I never have, never had a need. So I sort of never worried about it. So I did watch a few films with it and, you know, some of it, some of the films, they put out ads and they just seem lazy, you know, it's just like a statement here and a statement there. And what Michael brought to it is he really brought a sense of poetry to like scene descriptions and just contextualizing the vision. So even the voiceover artist, she was like, man, this is probably twice as long as a normal audio description script for me. So there's like, you know, obviously, you know, we kind of want to be best in class with that kind of thing. But I know Maddie doesn't really watch with audio description too much. So as much as I understand that it's great for the low vision community to have it, there's going to be people who don't want it. That's where the observational sequences and all those sort of little tricks came into play. So that way it's kind of however you want to consume this film, you've got an option for you.

And that's super important because, you know, as we're both fully aware, the blind and low vision community is by no means a monolith. And myself, as somebody with low vision, I sort of consume movies in my own way. And as you said, so do many other people out there. So that's really interesting to hear. You've had that experience as well, talking to quite a few people who do interact with these movies a different way. So in terms of where people can go and watch the blind, see what's the best way for them to do that, where should they keep tabs on that?

And that's super important because, you know, as we're both fully aware, the blind and low vision community is by no means a monolith. And myself, as somebody with low vision, I sort of consume movies in my own way. And as you said, so do many other people out there. So that's really interesting to hear. You've had that experience as well, talking to quite a few people who do interact with these movies a different way. So in terms of where people can go and watch the blind, see what's the best way for them to do that, where should they keep tabs on that?

Yeah, well there's two ways. Like we've been really, really blown away with how many people have gotten excited about this film and picked it up. So I would just say, you can reach out to your local cinema and check to see if it's in there coming soon, you know, you know, listed as a coming soon film, but you can go to the blind see website and the blind see website is the blind see. Com.au forward slash watch the film. And we've been working really, really hard. Our EP, she's just been so busy just trying to keep on top of every new listing that pops up, but she's been adding every cinema screening to that website, so you can just go straight to our website and jump on that tab, and it'll take you to, you know, your local cinema and you can jump, you know, from Northern Territory or WA or Sydney or wherever. there's listening to right around the country.

Yeah, well there's two ways. Like we've been really, really blown away with how many people have gotten excited about this film and picked it up. So I would just say, you can reach out to your local cinema and check to see if it's in there coming soon, you know, you know, listed as a coming soon film, but you can go to the blind see website and the blind see website is the blind see. Com.au forward slash watch the film. And we've been working really, really hard. Our EP, she's just been so busy just trying to keep on top of every new listing that pops up, but she's been adding every cinema screening to that website, so you can just go straight to our website and jump on that tab, and it'll take you to, you know, your local cinema and you can jump, you know, from Northern Territory or WA or Sydney or wherever. there's listening to right around the country.

All right. Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Daniel Fenech, director of the Blind See movie featuring blind surfer, Paralympian and blind cyclist Matt Formston. I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated Reading Radio stations and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Daniel Fenech, director of the blind. See, today's interviews will be available in full as interview highlights on the Vision Australia Radio podcast feed. Simply head to your favorite podcast platform to have a listen. You can always, of course, find Talking Vision as well on the Vision Australia Radio website at VA radio.org that's VA radio.org or through the Vision Australia library. Coming up next I speak with Vision Australia CEO Ron Horton. I began my conversation with Ron by giving him the opportunity to share his immediate thoughts and feelings. Following his decision to step down as CEO of Vision Australia very shortly.

All right. Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Daniel Fenech, director of the Blind See movie featuring blind surfer, Paralympian and blind cyclist Matt Formston. I'm Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated Reading Radio stations and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Daniel Fenech, director of the blind. See, today's interviews will be available in full as interview highlights on the Vision Australia Radio podcast feed. Simply head to your favorite podcast platform to have a listen. You can always, of course, find Talking Vision as well on the Vision Australia Radio website at VA radio.org that's VA radio.org or through the Vision Australia library. Coming up next I speak with Vision Australia CEO Ron Horton. I began my conversation with Ron by giving him the opportunity to share his immediate thoughts and feelings. Following his decision to step down as CEO of Vision Australia very shortly.

On the 2nd of August. Actually, it's been just an enormous privilege to be part of this organisation. It's an organisation that serves the blindness and low vision community of Australia, and it does so with great distinction very, very well. I'm very proud of what our organization achieves.

On the 2nd of August. Actually, it's been just an enormous privilege to be part of this organisation. It's an organisation that serves the blindness and low vision community of Australia, and it does so with great distinction very, very well. I'm very proud of what our organization achieves.

And it feels like literally yesterday that we were celebrating your ten year anniversary just a year and a half ago. That would have been now. So there is a few added things, a few added emotions. Now as you move on. It's a bit of a mixed kind of feeling that you'd be having right now, I suppose, tinged with a bit of sadness, but also quite a bit of excitement.

And it feels like literally yesterday that we were celebrating your ten year anniversary just a year and a half ago. That would have been now. So there is a few added things, a few added emotions. Now as you move on. It's a bit of a mixed kind of feeling that you'd be having right now, I suppose, tinged with a bit of sadness, but also quite a bit of excitement.

Oh, very much so. It's 11.5 years for me in the organisation, and that's a long time. I've been around senior positions in organisations for 27 years now, and the hours have been very long and I'm tired and I need a break. Um, the The mixed emotions are very much that I leave the organization in a brilliant place. We have a great leadership team and we have 850 people who have been my colleagues for some time now who do an absolutely amazing job. I'll miss every single one of my colleagues, but goodness me, I'm really ready for a break.

Oh, very much so. It's 11.5 years for me in the organisation, and that's a long time. I've been around senior positions in organisations for 27 years now, and the hours have been very long and I'm tired and I need a break. Um, the The mixed emotions are very much that I leave the organization in a brilliant place. We have a great leadership team and we have 850 people who have been my colleagues for some time now who do an absolutely amazing job. I'll miss every single one of my colleagues, but goodness me, I'm really ready for a break.

Oh for sure. We'll get back to that later on and find out just what you might be getting up to over that break. But before I do that, Ron, Justine Heath will be taking over as acting CEO as of the 2nd of August. So could you speak to how you're feeling about that and the confidence that you have in not only Justine, but the leadership team more broadly?

Oh for sure. We'll get back to that later on and find out just what you might be getting up to over that break. But before I do that, Ron, Justine Heath will be taking over as acting CEO as of the 2nd of August. So could you speak to how you're feeling about that and the confidence that you have in not only Justine, but the leadership team more broadly?

Oh, look, Virgin Australia is in very, very safe hands. I've known Justine now and worked with her for five years. She is an absolutely marvellous person. She's incredibly talented from a business perspective. She understands our culture, she understands blindness and low vision. I couldn't be more confident of anybody stepping in to that role. In terms of the leadership team, you have a marvellous group of people who, in their areas of specialization, do an absolutely fantastic job. My part for so many years has been to support them, to help them succeed, but they've been doing the job. People can feel very confident about the crew that's running Vision Australia today.

Oh, look, Virgin Australia is in very, very safe hands. I've known Justine now and worked with her for five years. She is an absolutely marvellous person. She's incredibly talented from a business perspective. She understands our culture, she understands blindness and low vision. I couldn't be more confident of anybody stepping in to that role. In terms of the leadership team, you have a marvellous group of people who, in their areas of specialization, do an absolutely fantastic job. My part for so many years has been to support them, to help them succeed, but they've been doing the job. People can feel very confident about the crew that's running Vision Australia today.

Now, Ron, we've covered off a little bit on the future of Vision Australia right there with Justine and the leadership team going forward. But for the time being, I'd love to go through a bit of a highlight package of the last 11.5 years. There's so many achievements. I'm sure we could list off far too many to fit in a 15 minute or so conversation. But you know, things like the Life Ready Program, know your vision, all those sort of things, all the initiatives that you've been so heavily involved with. What's been the feelings around that and being able to be involved with those things that have helped so many people around Australia in the blind and low vision community.

Now, Ron, we've covered off a little bit on the future of Vision Australia right there with Justine and the leadership team going forward. But for the time being, I'd love to go through a bit of a highlight package of the last 11.5 years. There's so many achievements. I'm sure we could list off far too many to fit in a 15 minute or so conversation. But you know, things like the Life Ready Program, know your vision, all those sort of things, all the initiatives that you've been so heavily involved with. What's been the feelings around that and being able to be involved with those things that have helped so many people around Australia in the blind and low vision community.

It's funny, Sam, that when you are moving day to day, you don't recognize what's been achieved. But over more than a decade now, the organization has grown remarkably. I think probably the first thing that I would mention is our transition to the NDIS And I started in January 2013, and in June 2013 the government launched the NDIS and it was launched in Newcastle and in Geelong. And we adopted a process of demonstration sites. We had no idea what the NDIS was going to look like, nor did the NDIS as it happened. So we just said to the people in those two locations, do whatever it takes. There are no rules. And that worked brilliantly for us. A couple of years later, we put in a great information system to support our organization. We did some rebranding. We used to be purple and green and now we're yellow and blue. That's right. Yeah, they're much more fashionable colors.

It's funny, Sam, that when you are moving day to day, you don't recognize what's been achieved. But over more than a decade now, the organization has grown remarkably. I think probably the first thing that I would mention is our transition to the NDIS And I started in January 2013, and in June 2013 the government launched the NDIS and it was launched in Newcastle and in Geelong. And we adopted a process of demonstration sites. We had no idea what the NDIS was going to look like, nor did the NDIS as it happened. So we just said to the people in those two locations, do whatever it takes. There are no rules. And that worked brilliantly for us. A couple of years later, we put in a great information system to support our organization. We did some rebranding. We used to be purple and green and now we're yellow and blue. That's right. Yeah, they're much more fashionable colors.

Certainly.

Certainly.

There was of course, the Covid times as well, which were very, very difficult for everyone. But our organization thrived through that. We kept going and did 95% of our service hours that we were previously doing before Covid with an enormous amount of telehealth. And then you mentioned Life Ready, and you mentioned know your Vision. Both are marvelous projects. The Life Ready program really does it for kids. Kids from the age zero, from from their their birth right through to their early 20s focused on getting them into jobs. I have such a lot of confidence in the people that are coming through those programs that they're going to get out there and make a big impact on life. The last one you mentioned, no, your vision is very much about our older Australians, and we expect that over the next decade, there's going to be about a 30% increase in the number of people who need our services and the Know Your Vision program, and an absolutely brilliant program checking in chat that helps people in that age group with their well-being are just going to be so necessary for that growing population. Three quarters of our clients now are over the age of 65, and that's going to be a cohort that is going to be so much in need over the next 10 to 20 years. Mhm.

There was of course, the Covid times as well, which were very, very difficult for everyone. But our organization thrived through that. We kept going and did 95% of our service hours that we were previously doing before Covid with an enormous amount of telehealth. And then you mentioned Life Ready, and you mentioned know your Vision. Both are marvelous projects. The Life Ready program really does it for kids. Kids from the age zero, from from their their birth right through to their early 20s focused on getting them into jobs. I have such a lot of confidence in the people that are coming through those programs that they're going to get out there and make a big impact on life. The last one you mentioned, no, your vision is very much about our older Australians, and we expect that over the next decade, there's going to be about a 30% increase in the number of people who need our services and the Know Your Vision program, and an absolutely brilliant program checking in chat that helps people in that age group with their well-being are just going to be so necessary for that growing population. Three quarters of our clients now are over the age of 65, and that's going to be a cohort that is going to be so much in need over the next 10 to 20 years. Mhm.

And Ron, I also wanted to go into the involvement that Vision Australia has had under your leadership with strengthening services for First Nations communities who are at higher risk of blindness or low vision in the Red centre, the Northern Territory more generally, but also over in Broome, up in the Kimberley and those sort of regions. And, you know, tell us a bit about those services that we're able to provide there.

And Ron, I also wanted to go into the involvement that Vision Australia has had under your leadership with strengthening services for First Nations communities who are at higher risk of blindness or low vision in the Red centre, the Northern Territory more generally, but also over in Broome, up in the Kimberley and those sort of regions. And, you know, tell us a bit about those services that we're able to provide there.

Oh, that's been an enormous passion project for me. Indigenous people have real challenges with vision loss and the program that we built, first of all, in Alice Springs, where we've partnered with the Congress organization up there to bring services to the local communities. And then in Broome with the Lions Outback Vision Centre have delivered. They've delivered brilliantly. We've got people on the ground there working with credible organisations trusted by the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It's just working very, very well. Over the last year, we've had a 17% increase in the number of Aboriginal people who gained services from Vision Australia. So I think the the record speaks for itself.

Oh, that's been an enormous passion project for me. Indigenous people have real challenges with vision loss and the program that we built, first of all, in Alice Springs, where we've partnered with the Congress organization up there to bring services to the local communities. And then in Broome with the Lions Outback Vision Centre have delivered. They've delivered brilliantly. We've got people on the ground there working with credible organisations trusted by the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It's just working very, very well. Over the last year, we've had a 17% increase in the number of Aboriginal people who gained services from Vision Australia. So I think the the record speaks for itself.

We'll go to a little bit of a lighter topic, Ron. Now, um, as you mentioned earlier in the interview there, you're really keen to rest and recharge your batteries, so to speak. So no doubt over the past 11.5 years, there's been thousands and thousands of early mornings, late nights, wall to wall meetings, commitments and everything like that. Being able to just switch off, take a break. What are you looking forward to the most getting up to and spending your free time? What do you love to do there?

We'll go to a little bit of a lighter topic, Ron. Now, um, as you mentioned earlier in the interview there, you're really keen to rest and recharge your batteries, so to speak. So no doubt over the past 11.5 years, there's been thousands and thousands of early mornings, late nights, wall to wall meetings, commitments and everything like that. Being able to just switch off, take a break. What are you looking forward to the most getting up to and spending your free time? What do you love to do there?

Oh look I'm going to try and play some more golf. Yes. Uh, one of the career options that I have going forward is not going to be PGA Tour or Seniors Tour, but I'd love to get out there in the outdoors. I want to do some more hiking. I was looking enviously at a mornington Peninsula hike, but I've also got in mind the 80 kilometre coastal trek in Sydney some time. Bit of gardening. Our garden is somewhat rundown, maybe a little bit of woodworking, but also I want to have the time to learn. There are a whole lot of things that I want to get in there and learn about. Maybe a bit of computer coding, some new theories coming through on AI. So I'm going to be really busy. I'm going to go and do another job sometime soon. I don't know when that is, and I don't know what that is, but the options are so many that I have to spend time also working out how to choose.

Oh look I'm going to try and play some more golf. Yes. Uh, one of the career options that I have going forward is not going to be PGA Tour or Seniors Tour, but I'd love to get out there in the outdoors. I want to do some more hiking. I was looking enviously at a mornington Peninsula hike, but I've also got in mind the 80 kilometre coastal trek in Sydney some time. Bit of gardening. Our garden is somewhat rundown, maybe a little bit of woodworking, but also I want to have the time to learn. There are a whole lot of things that I want to get in there and learn about. Maybe a bit of computer coding, some new theories coming through on AI. So I'm going to be really busy. I'm going to go and do another job sometime soon. I don't know when that is, and I don't know what that is, but the options are so many that I have to spend time also working out how to choose.

Yeah, that's the exciting part. I know you are also a bit of a sports tragic, Ron. Um, and it's perfect timing as the Olympics are just upon us now. So being able to spend a few late nights watching the Olympics and that sort of thing, but also the cricket's not far away as things warm up. But we've also got the northern hemisphere summer, so, you know, watching a bit of that.

Yeah, that's the exciting part. I know you are also a bit of a sports tragic, Ron. Um, and it's perfect timing as the Olympics are just upon us now. So being able to spend a few late nights watching the Olympics and that sort of thing, but also the cricket's not far away as things warm up. But we've also got the northern hemisphere summer, so, you know, watching a bit of that.

Oh, that will be wonderful. I am a cricket tragic. And in the Olympics there are a couple of things that I'm really, really excited about. Water polo is a sport again and our boys were represented of water polo players back in New Zealand. So they they'll be passionately watching that, as will we. But I'm really looking forward to seeing how Jess Gallagher does. Jess is a good friend of mine and a part of the blindness and low vision community of Australia, and she's, I think, at her third or fourth Olympics, including Summer and Winter and Sam, I'm sure you'll get her back on the program sometime soon.

Oh, that will be wonderful. I am a cricket tragic. And in the Olympics there are a couple of things that I'm really, really excited about. Water polo is a sport again and our boys were represented of water polo players back in New Zealand. So they they'll be passionately watching that, as will we. But I'm really looking forward to seeing how Jess Gallagher does. Jess is a good friend of mine and a part of the blindness and low vision community of Australia, and she's, I think, at her third or fourth Olympics, including Summer and Winter and Sam, I'm sure you'll get her back on the program sometime soon.

Love to. Yeah. She's a great contributor to not only the Olympic scene, but also all around in the blind and low vision community in a variety of roles that she's held and continues to hold and does some amazing work. So we do love to keep tabs on how she's going. She's an absolute seasoned pro now. I think, um, she's been well, you've said 3 or 4 Olympics. That might be even more than that. Yeah. She's been a super experienced Olympian, so we'd love to have her on the program. So Ron, finally, what sort of message would you like to leave our listeners with as we wrap up today?

Love to. Yeah. She's a great contributor to not only the Olympic scene, but also all around in the blind and low vision community in a variety of roles that she's held and continues to hold and does some amazing work. So we do love to keep tabs on how she's going. She's an absolute seasoned pro now. I think, um, she's been well, you've said 3 or 4 Olympics. That might be even more than that. Yeah. She's been a super experienced Olympian, so we'd love to have her on the program. So Ron, finally, what sort of message would you like to leave our listeners with as we wrap up today?

I think probably the most profound learning that I've had is that people with disabilities have their disabilities created by the ignorance and intolerance of the world around them, not by themselves. And I think the more we can do to bring forward the really great capabilities of people who are in the blindness and low vision community, to have them being first choice for jobs and living in an environment that really suits and is is built for them. It's just a really important challenge for all Australians. The other little message that I'd like to leave is that the blindness and low vision community has an absolute asset. In Vision Australia. I have 850 colleagues who I have the greatest fondness for, but also the greatest respect for their skill as therapists or in all the other roles, including your own. As a radio personality, we have a great organisation here that will serve blindness and low vision community of Australia for just many years to come.

I think probably the most profound learning that I've had is that people with disabilities have their disabilities created by the ignorance and intolerance of the world around them, not by themselves. And I think the more we can do to bring forward the really great capabilities of people who are in the blindness and low vision community, to have them being first choice for jobs and living in an environment that really suits and is is built for them. It's just a really important challenge for all Australians. The other little message that I'd like to leave is that the blindness and low vision community has an absolute asset. In Vision Australia. I have 850 colleagues who I have the greatest fondness for, but also the greatest respect for their skill as therapists or in all the other roles, including your own. As a radio personality, we have a great organisation here that will serve blindness and low vision community of Australia for just many years to come.

Thank you so much for being here today, Ron. It's been a pleasure to have you on the program over the past few years. So all the very best in your future, and I'm sure we will cross paths here or there somewhere. So I'm very excited to see where that might be.

Thank you so much for being here today, Ron. It's been a pleasure to have you on the program over the past few years. So all the very best in your future, and I'm sure we will cross paths here or there somewhere. So I'm very excited to see where that might be.

Sam, thank you very much. Signing off as CEO.

Sam, thank you very much. Signing off as CEO.

Ron Horton there catching up with me on Talking Vision this week as he wraps up as Vision Australia CEO, effective as of the 2nd of August. 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 anytime 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 Colley saying bye for now.

Ron Horton there catching up with me on Talking Vision this week as he wraps up as Vision Australia CEO, effective as of the 2nd of August. 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 anytime 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 Colley saying bye for now.

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