By Susan Thompson

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Those of you who have attended conventions in recent years will know that some of the most popular sessions have been those offering tips and tricks for living, where people share their own solutions to the everyday challenges we all face as people who are blind or vision impaired. More recently the sessions have been titled “Life Hacks” to give them a more modern image.

Many of these segments have been recorded and are in our audio archives. They have also been available online and we are now going to bring them to more of our members, through a regular feature in Blind Citizens News.

Whether we are totally blind, have some useful vision, or are parents with vision impaired children striving to be independent, we all face challenges living with vision impairment which the power of peer support can lessen. By drawing on the experience of three generations of our community, we hope to create, over time, a valuable toolkit for tackling the problems which sighted people overcome without thought.

Whether it is labelling or mowing the lawn, putting on makeup or changing a baby’s nappy, travelling overseas or dealing with those pesky situations where well-meaning people are less than helpful, we want to gather our collective wisdom for all to learn and benefit from.

How will it work?

You submit questions about daily tasks in which you’d like some advice, by emailing bca@bca.org.au with the subject line of “Question for Life Hacks”. Likewise, those with great tips to share can send an email to the same address with the subject line “Tip for Life Hacks”.

Each issue of Blind Citizens News will feature highlights of the questions and answers we have received. We’ll also let you know how you can look at those ideas which didn’t feature.

No question is too trivial, and no tip too menial. Whether your tip is a manual solution, a way of organizing, a gadget or a high-tech solution, if it works for you, it is worth sharing. To get things started, here’s a tip from yours truly:

How can I peel potatoes and sweet potatoes without leaving some of the skin?

Contrary to conventional practice, don’t wash the potatoes first. This way there is a more distinct difference in texture between the peeled and unpeeled potato. Then peel with a common vegetable/potato peeler, going around in a top to bottom approach, rather than a circular approach. This way you can avoid peeling off too much of the vegetable, because you can reposition the peeler with each stroke. After you have gone all the way round, you can easily find the missed unpeeled spots, which feel dirty in contrast.

We look forward to receiving your questions and tips for the next edition of Blind Citizens News.

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By Gisele Mesnage

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Disability rights advocates everywhere are pushing to make the digital world accessible to everyone. In the US, campaigns for talking ATMs, accessible websites and mobile apps, talking prescription labels, audio description, and accessible health care and financial information have all benefited from an approach pioneered and developed by Lainey Feingold and like-minded colleagues, entitled “Structured Negotiation”.

Structured Negotiation is an alternative dispute resolution process with a powerful track record. Without lawsuits, the Law Office of Lainey Feingold and others have used the method for more than 20 years to negotiate comprehensive agreements with some of the largest organisations in the United States. Bank of America, Major League Baseball and the City and County of San Francisco have all participated in Structured Negotiation. Developed to resolve civil rights claims of blind people, the method has application to a wide variety of civil claims where parties seek collaboration and solution over conflict and expense.

Lainey Feingold has worked in disability rights since 1992, and opened her own law office in 1996, from where she represents people with disabilities seeking full participation in all society has to offer. Her principal work is with the blind and vision impaired community on technology and information access issues, including web and mobile accessibility.

Lainey has won multiple awards for her work, and is a frequent and highly regarded speaker and trainer at conferences, webinars, law school classes, and other programs and events. It was a long wait for us down under in Australia to hear her speak in person. It first happened on 14 November 2017 at an event co-hosted by the Digital Gap Initiative (DGI), the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Australian Human Rights Centre (now renamed the Disability Innovation Institute).

The talk was held at Ashurst, a prestigious legal firm, located at Martin Place, in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. The hall was packed to capacity with advocates, lawyers, and business and government sector reps. There was an indescribable buzz in the atmosphere.

Lainey talked about her book and about her work. She has such a down-to-earth and genial way of delivering her message. The audience was captivated, and asked many questions. Some of her key points were that structured negotiation and good legislation go hand in hand; and that patience is indispensable in the quest for change.

Lainey is coming back to Australia, and will be one of an impressive line of speakers at the A11y Camp to be held in Melbourne from the 17^th to the 19th of October 2018. Lainey will be presenting a conference keynote and also holding a workshop at the camp. We know a lot of people in Australia will really be looking forward to her visit – make sure you don’t miss out.

For further information please visit the A11y event registration site. Lainey will also be hosting a workshop in Sydney, but details were not available at the time of publication. Please email gisele@digitalgap.org if you would like to be kept updated about the Sydney event. Details will also be posted on the BCA list when they become available.

In 2016, the American Bar Association published Lainey’s book, Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. It is available in print and accessible digital formats. You can buy it from the ABA, Amazon or Bookshare.

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By Jonathan Craig

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In June 2019, the Victorian government will begin the roll-out of 65 new high capacity trains on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, with plans to introduce more if they prove successful. BCA and other organisations were consulted during the procurement process, and as a result, we recognised four critical design flaws in a prototype train.

We’re very pleased to report that those flaws won’t appear in the new trains when they’re introduced next year. BCA was represented by Martin Stewart, who energetically and eloquently lobbied for the correction of the errors he discovered. This consultation process has resulted in a historic advocacy victory, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Martin.

When he visited the prototype, Martin found electrical maintenance cabinets under many of the priority seats, filling the space which would be safest for dog guides. Because high capacity trains have fewer seats and encourage passengers to stand, floor-to-ceiling poles were installed in the middle of every carriage, directly in line with each door, where people who are blind or vision impaired could easily collide with them.

On Melbourne trains, doors don’t open automatically. Another problem Martin found was that the button which opens the doors gave no tactile feedback. At a busy station, it would be difficult to hear the door sliding open, and the audio feedback couldn’t be heard in a loud carriage.

Working with Guide Dogs Victoria and Vision Australia, Martin was able to explain all of these issues, and as a result, all of them have been resolved. The audible feedback when doors are opened will now be loud enough for any station. There will no longer be maintenance cabinets under the priority seats. And in collaboration with another advocacy group, All Aboard, Martin negotiated a compromise, where four of the seven carriages on each train will no longer include hazardous poles.

But the fourth issue Martin found was especially personal to him. In the prototype, Martin discovered a large gap between each of the train’s carriages. This was an error that could cause serious injury or death. Communicating the problem would prove challenging, but Martin had a secret weapon. A story.

He was the ideal advocate to demonstrate the terrible impact such a design flaw could have. In 2002, he lost an arm and a leg, when he stepped into a gap between two carriages, assuming it was a doorway. “My disadvantage was my advantage in this particular lobby effort,” Martin said. “I was able to represent the stark truth and reality of not getting it right.”

To fill that gap, Martin had to get personal. At one meeting, frustrated by slow progress and determined to defend his community from the trauma he’d suffered, he deliberately removed his artificial leg. “I said this will be the result. And then I touched my arm. Here’s another one.”

Martin’s dramatic approach certainly did have an impact. At a recent stakeholder meeting, Michael Dunn, Assistant Director of governance and reporting for the project, announced that all the new high capacity trains would have “gangway gap barriers” built in, to prevent passengers from falling between carriages.

Dunn also told Martin that this protective feature would be included in all future Melbourne trains. That moment was the absolution he’d waited 16 years to find. “Yesterday was the most satisfying advocacy day that I have ever had,” he told us after that meeting.

Martin believes the memorable story of a dangerous design flaw, discovered just in time, has inspired a cultural change that will last forever. “If the current staff are replaced,” he explained, “what’s not replaced is the culture, because the culture of inclusion is already there. So cultural change is really important. But that can only happen if good history is created.”

During the negotiation process, Martin painted a picture of a collaborative victory. It wouldn’t just be a win for the people who might have endured discomfort and serious danger. Public Transport Victoria and the High Capacity Trains Consortium could proudly say they took steps to protect and include all their passengers. “Let’s agree now to work on a solution,” he said, “so I am happy, and what we’ve spoken about is put into action, so you’ll be happy that you’ve done it as well. In other words, let’s create good history, together.”

The history they’ve made sets an example other governments can learn from. Queensland Rail recently procured 75 New Generation Rollingstock trains which are currently in operation, despite dangerous access issues. These trains must now be retrofitted, at significant extra cost to tax-payers.

An inquiry is investigating how these flaws weren’t recognised earlier. In BCA’s submission, we recommended that procurement processes should prioritise disability access, and include broad consultation with disability groups at the design stage. “Queensland didn’t consult,” Martin said. “Victoria has. And therefore we had the opportunity to create these changes, which have now been agreed to, and are going to happen.”

Meanwhile, BCA is very happy to celebrate this success, and congratulate everyone involved in this consultation process. For Martin and his family, it means more than most of us can imagine. “Ever since February the 4^th, 2002,” he said, “I have desperately wanted my lived traumatic experience to have meaning, to achieve something for myself and our community. From yesterday, and forever, it has.”

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By Emma Bennison

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As always, a lot has been happening at BCA. I want to give you a summary and then offer some reflections on a recent personal highlight.

The BCA board and senior staff met face-to-face in July. The meeting coincided with the launch of the NSW/ACT State Division. A key element was a review of BCA’s strategic plan. Good progress was made, and consultation with our members and key stakeholders will now take place, to refine our strategic direction over the next two years.

Guide Dogs Australia’s National Policy Advisor, Jaci Armstrong, provided us with practical insights into how we can ensure our engagement with Ministers and politicians is as effective as possible in achieving positive advocacy outcomes. We also resolved to formalise a well-being strategy to actively provide support to our organisation’s leaders, aspiring leaders and staff.

State and National Conventions were also on our agenda. We confirmed that our National Convention will be held in Hobart from 29 March to 1 April 2019. You can find some preliminary information about the Convention elsewhere in this edition.

The organisation’s commitment to Aboriginal people was also reaffirmed. In particular, the importance of continuing the work commenced by BCA and First Peoples Disability Network as part of the first Aboriginal Blind Persons Gathering in 2017. The gathering highlighted the unnecessary burdens on the lives of Aboriginal Australians, and the unique challenges they experience in accessing the NDIS and My Aged Care, public transport and appropriate services and disability diagnoses, particularly in regional and rural areas.

Whilst on the subject of ensuring we reach marginalized communities, we have taken another important step recently, by adding a language translation feature to our website. The language feature is located at the very top of the webpage (on all pages) and is accessed via a dropdown menu. We welcome your feedback on the new feature, and hope to continue improving the ways we communicate with people from non-English speaking backgrounds.

We have had a number of staffing changes of late. We said a reluctant farewell to Lauren Henley, our Policy and advocacy Manager. We also said a temporary good-bye to our NSW/ACT Coordinator, Krystel Malcolm, who is now on maternity leave. On behalf of members and staff, we congratulate Krystel and her husband Nemoy on the birth of their new baby boy, Nathan.

Angela Jaeschke has stepped into the role of Acting Policy and Advocacy Manager, and Sally Aurisch is Acting as NSW/ACT Coordinator. Finally, our NSW/ACT Administration Officer, Melea OConnell, has moved on to pursue new opportunities. We are currently recruiting for a new Project Officer and a new NSW/ACT Administration Officer, so watch this space.

So now, some reflections on my personal highlight. On the 24th of July, a conference hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission marked the launch of a major project looking at the intersection of technology and Human Rights, and the release of a discussion paper that will direct consultations over the next two years.

I was honoured to be invited to join Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Alastair McEwin, and CEO of the Centre for Inclusive Design, Dr Manisha Amin, on a panel discussing the impact of emerging and future technologies on people with disability.

Amongst other things, I took every possible opportunity to highlight the fact that Australia lags behind other OECD countries in relation to audio description. I also talked about the fact that when touch screen devices and other new technologies are developed in consultation with people who are blind or vision impaired from the design phase, they can be very accessible.

But too often, we are either completely forgotten, or not consulted until the testing phase, when it is too late to make significant hardware changes.

Further, I suggested that one of the most effective ways to ensure people with disability are not excluded from technological development is to employ them in technology companies. Another key area we discussed was the effectiveness of the disability Discrimination Act in relation to improving access to technology.

The panel agreed that the legislation had been effective to some extent, and that we are very fortunate to have the DDA, but that it requires reform. I made the point that the system relies on people with disability to prove discrimination, and that process can be time-consuming and exhausting.

Somewhat fortuitously as it turned out, on the morning of the conference, I discovered that the lift in my hotel featured neither braille nor large print numbers. I was able to use a new technology called Aira to quickly locate the button I needed and get to the conference. For those unfamiliar with Aira, it is a new remote visual interpreting technology which connects people who are blind or vision impaired with trained agents via their smart phone. Agents can provide immediate description via the phone’s camera, or via a camera mounted on a pair of glasses.

This story perfectly demonstrated how new technology has the potential to revolutionise the lives of people who are blind or vision impaired, providing it is affordable and accessible. But such technology, I pointed out, also has the potential to make us complacent in our advocacy efforts. For instance, if I can complete an inaccessible PDF form with the help of a service like Aira, will I be less likely to contact the content creator to request an accessible version?

I hypothesized that it would have the opposite effect. I reflected on how significantly my stress levels have been reduced as a result of being able to access sighted assistance when and where I needed it, leaving me with more time and energy to advocate for change. I also reflected on the significant positive shift I had noticed in relation to people’s attitudes towards me when using this technology while travelling, and my belief that over time, it has the potential to positively impact on public perceptions of people who are blind or vision impaired. I certainly hope that is the case.

The panel session was recorded for the ABC’s “Big Ideas” program, which you can play or download online. Perhaps listening to it will inspire you to offer your perspective on how technology is impacting on your human rights for the next issue of Blind Citizens News.

I look forward to reading your contributions, and to continuing these conversations with some of you at the upcoming NSW/ACT State Convention.

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