In Plain Sight

LeadAbility delivered by Leadership WA, aims to empower Western Australians with disability to become confident leaders and explore their full potential in a dynamic practical leadership program.
This week on In Plain sight we enjoyed the company of Meagan Shand who has just begun her role as the Leadership Development Manager at LeadAbility.

Meagan shared many interesting aspects about this fabulous inclusive program, including that she is the first person in this role who has a disability.
She is an experienced Disability Leader with a rich and diverse experience working across the disability, higher education and social sector across Australia.

To find out more or to apply, or share this opportunity with someone in your community who may be interested in LeadAbility:
leadershipwa.org.au/leadability
Meagan’s email: 
[email protected]
 
Disability led solutions are the solution

It was a great pleasure to meet and talk with Meagan, and we hope you enjoy this very informative conversation.

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Lilly is a super impressive young person, who has already written her first book “Blossom, and is now   

preparing for an upcoming documentary and her entry into the Focus on Ability Film Festival.

As a WA Youth Awards finalist 2024 & 2025 lily proudly, & boldly uses her voice to create change.

This week at In Plain Sight we  are delighted to replay a wonderful conversation wee had with Lily to highlight her great work. Lily wants to make a difference in this world and she will and we are proud to shine a light upon it.

- Also bring attention to her documentary launch event.

This project has brought together a lot of individuals and sectors - an incredible achievement for someone of Lily's age. 

Event details and registration: 

Date:        Sunday 26 July

Time:        2pm-4pm

Venue:     Kolbe Catholic College

                25 Dowling St, Rockingham

RSVP:      https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1608729

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Kyra Cullton is a recent participant of the CPActive Changemakers leadership program conducted by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Australia.  The 12 week CPActive program aims to bring people together to make Australia more inclusive, whilst developing young leaders advocating for change.

This dynamic & impressive young person who lives in the town of Australind, 2 hours South of Perth, made quite an impact on us during our conversation. Kyra has already demonstrated her determination and skill as an advocate with a strong voice and has produced two short films as part of the Focus on Ability Film Festival. Keep a look out for her latest film project “You’ve Got This!” (2026). This documentary was inspired by the mental health challenges Kyra has faced alongside her Cerebral Palsy.

Kyra who has just turned 19 is a fabulous example of leadership in action who is highly motivated to make our Community more inclusive while encouraging others to participate and get involved in their community and beyond.

The CPActive course is an online program offered Australia wide.
We learnt from out time with Kyra Leadership programs such as this participants gain much more than formal skills & training, they can also gain valuable insights into their personal development and growth.
And, small actions can bake a big difference   


CPActive website
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://cpactive.org.au__;!!BW9V2p7J0Kl2QvQ!DDIE7utTVW2-19iI3ZLVYZ6KTP0WWMCs3iE2x4EitcBNB1Lz7ymX27s6Cn68FVnyinkQbu29Kc9WayFweDSIISfIWInDUGCb$

Kyra’s film - “Dear Cerebral Palsy’. (2003).
Kyra Culloton - Dear Cerebral Palsy
Focus on Ability Film Festival
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/PABybvPR2RM?si=zluymuPanTIZ2pAM__;!!BW9V2p7J0Kl2QvQ!DDIE7utTVW2-19iI3ZLVYZ6KTP0WWMCs3iE2x4EitcBNB1Lz7ymX27s6Cn68FVnyinkQbu29Kc9WayFweDSIISfIWBGn9df7$

 2023 Australian Open Documentary - Focus on Ability Short Film Festival. Full details at
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.focusonability.com.au__;!!BW9V2p7J0Kl2QvQ!DDIE7utTVW2-19iI3ZLVYZ6KTP0WWMCs3iE2x4EitcBNB1Lz7ymX27s6Cn68FVnyinkQbu29Kc9WayFweDSIISfIWFtXDpnt$ 

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There's far more to Mel Stephens than first meets the eye.
Mel is a passionate storyteller, disability advocate and content creator who is blind, sharing her life, experiences and adventures with audiences across Australia and beyond. Living in regional Victoria, Mel describes herself simply: *"I'm just a country girl. I love horses, I love footy, I love travel. I just happen to experience the world through my fingertips and my ears, not my eyes."*
A proud horse lover and train enthusiast, Mel maintains a vibrant online presence across multiple platforms, where she documents the everyday experiences, adventures and occasional misadventures she shares with her Guide Dog, Penelope. Through her engaging and authentic storytelling, Mel offers unique insights into blindness, disability, independence and everyday life.
Recently, Mel also participated in the powerful theatrical production *My Story: Stories from the Waiting Room*, a performance designed to entertain, educate and challenge audiences by sharing authentic experiences of living with disability through dramatic storytelling.
Join us for a warm, engaging and insightful conversation as Mel shares her journey, her passions, her advocacy work and the importance of telling stories that help others better understand disability and lived experience.

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Introducing Martin Stewart a long term campaigner, activist & advocate of rights and needs for people who are blind.  Martin was born blind and in 2002 was seriously injured  an horrific public transport accident.
In his current role at Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) as the National Individual Advocacy Officer he assists people who are blind or vision impaired to empower them to achieve the things they need.

BCA is one of the leading national advocacy agencies that provide both systemic & individual advocacy.
There aim is  to inform, connect, and empower Australians who are blind or vision impaired and to help fight for the rights and needs of this community. 

During our engaging conversation with Martin we discover the variety and diversity within the Blind Community and learn that sometimes shouting loudly is the best way to be noticed and other times polite diplomacy is the preferred method. WE really appreciated getting a very brief insight in to Martin’s dedication and hard work over many years working to improve the lives of the vulnerable and under-represented.

Some of the reforms and actions initially advocated on behalf of Blind Australians are now common place and not even recognised as special treatment or applications and are now well-known everyday objects and sounds. We enjoye bringing to light some of these actions and developments. BCA is constantly working towards making life for people who are blind or have low vision as equitable as possible.
Within our conversation with Martin we highlight some everyday things that are still not as fair or equal for those who are blind, and learn what more needs to be done.
 
A very informative & educational conversation, that we are sure you will enjoy.

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Join us this week as we celebrate the lives and stories of Deafblind Western Australians. Simon and Andrew have a chat with Linni Oliver and Jason Rowland from Deafblind WA (DBWA) to help us celebrate and acknowledge Deafblind Awareness Week which runs from June 22nd to the 28th.

This year's theme is 'Connected by touch: Breaking barriers, building bridges." While we can't connect via touch in this audio format we do hope to help reduce barriers and build bridges between individuals and communities. 

During Deafblind Week there will be celebrations across Australia highlighting community, advocacy and inclusion. We make mention of activities happening in Victoria but our main focus is on our recording location, WA. An example of the activities being held is the Lawn Bowls Event on Saturday 27 June, which is a celebration to wrap up the week with an afternoon on fun, friendship and community connection. 

You can contact Linni at [email protected] to find out more. 

This is a warm, friendly and engaging program that we are sure you will enjoy.

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This week we enjoyed the company of Matt Spencer, a well respected member of the Blind Community in Perth. We really appreciate learning about such positive and active people, and to be able to share their stories with you. Matt is one of those wonderful people who is actively involved in many aspects of community and we aim to bring his story to light, which would otherwise be hidden in plain sight. 

It is always a privilege to speak with our guests and we acknowledge that Matt shares some very personal details about his life including his vision loss, Keratoconus and many aspects of living a full life while being vision impaired. Matt's delightful sense of humour warmly threaded through our personal, anecdotal conversation. It's so great to get a brief insight into peoples' lives, ordinary and extraordinary, and to hear wonderful stories, all worth shining a light on. 

This week we also preview events happening for DeafBlind Week 2026 with Deafblind West Australians (DBWA) which runs from June 22 to 28. DBWA will hold two special events to acknowledge this on Wednesday the 24th and Saturday the 27th of June. You contact DBWA at this link https://dbwa.org.au/contact-us/ for more info.

Stay tuned to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio on digital, you can also contact us at [email protected] with any questions or comments. 

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This week on In Plain Sight we have compiled a very special show to highlight some of the prominent people who have featured in Simon’s life who have demonstrated leadership and acted as role-models, within the Blind Community in Perth and beyond.

We start the program with a fresh conversation with Dr Scott Holier as we explore & examine aspects of leadership, community connections and how role-models can assist us and inspire us.  It is always great to speak with Scott and we are very appreciative that he could share some of his valuable time and provide us with some fabulous positivity and insights.

Several years ago when we began this program Simon wanted to start with one of the most dynamic and active advocates for the Blind and all people with a disability and we chose Erika Webb. We have selected some of the highlights from her engaging interview, to give a brief insight into her strengths and determination. To accompany this we have also selected some highlights from an interview with Zel Iscel, to highlight her long involvement with Blind Citizens WA and her passion in advocacy for better “Rights” for people with disabilities.

And, finally we allow Simon to be a little indulgent to pay tribute to his friend Dave Regan (born 09/06/1969 - died, 02/11/2016). On what would have been his 57th birthday Simon praises his good friend who was one of motivations and inspirations for creating and producing this podcast program.  We also play a song he wrote called "Not Forever" covered by Bernie Pickett and the Fish Whisperers.

        *Note: - special thanks to Andrew Williams, for all his hard work, dedication & extra time working on editing & production with this complex project — which resulted in a wonderful program & high quality content.

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This week we have the pleasure of talking with Emma Vardy, who has recently participated in the Young Leaders program conducted and organised by DeafBlind Western Australians (DBWA). Emma describes the complexities of becoming a leader and exploring one's own internal leadership. She proudly illustrates her journey from little knowledge to demonstrating her strength and confidence gained from participating in such a wonderful, inclusive program.

The DBWA program touched on concepts like self-advocacy, citizenship keys, finding inner strength and discovering the inner knowledge to become a competent, confident person in leadership. 

Emma shares her passions and interests both inside and outside of future work. She is a wonderful singer, looking to explore professional avenues and demonstrate her talent. Whilst exploring the concepts of leadership, Emma describes leaders she has had in her world that have inspired her and modelled behaviours she admires.

We hope you enjoy this pleasant conversation where we discover the many adventures of this young leader and strong community member. 

If you would like to learn more about DeafBlind WA you can click the link here to explore their events, opportunities or visit their Connect Hub Drop In Centre in Maylands. https://dbwa.org.au/

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This week we present a special program in collaboration with Blind Sports WA, featuring Ben Rowe, Executive officer at Blind Sports WA. Simon was moved and inspired by a recent BSWA podcast by Ben called "How do we perceive ourselves as blind or vision impaired?" This episode serves as a clip show of this great discussion by Ben to generate a conversation around perception and personal confidence. 

Here at In Plain Sight we like to help create a sense of community and highlight the strength in vulnerabilities, while acknowledging things aren't always easy, but might not be as bad as it seems as long as we find ways to connect with others.

Ben Rowe is a dynamic leader in his community with many strings to his bow, including being a disability advocate, sports person and musician. Ben has several fabulous albums well worth checking out, including the song "Feeling Like Home" which you hear a clip of in this episode. Ben's music can be found on music streaming services as well as Bandcamp, where you can also connect with Ben.

Here is the link to Ben's Bandcamp https://bennyrowemusic.bandcamp.com/

We hope you enjoyed this personal conversation and collaboration from Ben recorded for the Blind Sports WA Podcast. You can listen to the whole episode or other episodes through this link https://www.blindsportswa.com.au/resources/blind-sports-wa-podcast

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