The Visionary Podcast

This episode is a heart-warming, honest and open conversation, hosted by Fern Lulham, where participants share their personal experiences of parenthood and sight loss.

Together, they explore the different ways of becoming aparent while living with sight loss, and the joys, questions and assumptions that can come along the way.

It’s a thoughtful, uplifting and deeply human conversationabout family, parenthood, expectations and seeing things differently; as one of the participants said: They make these judgements based on their experience about what being a parent with sight loss is.”

We invite you to listen to our second episode and help usspread the word. Help us share this episode with the world!

 This Visionary project in partnership with MyVisionOxfordshire and Vision Support is possible thanks to Fight For Sight and their generous support.

This episode explores the theme of Disclosure, reflecting on the personal challenges and emotions involved in sharing one's lived experience of sight loss. Through an open and engaging conversation, Fern Lulham, Andy Smith and Hannah-Elisabeth Dix offer valuable insights into the importance of empathy, acceptance and inclusion, why it is so important to create environments where everyone feels safe to bethemselves. This episode reminds us that disclosure is never a simple decision.

We invite you to listen to our first episode and help us spread the word. Help us share this episode with the world!

 This Visionary project in partnership with MyVision Oxforshide and Vision Support is possible thanks to Fight For Sight and their generous support.

Our nineth guest at the Visionary virtual coffee table is Salim Patel of the BBC.

Salim offered a compelling exploration of lived experience representation, both from his personal standpoint and within the broader sight loss sector. Salim generously shared his thoughts and experiences, painting a vivid picture of what an inclusive future means to him. The discussion ventured beyond sight loss, touching on Salim's diverse projects outside of his workplace. He shared his exciting plans to attempt a deep dive world record attempt and the local sports club he manages in the North West of England. 

Did this conversation resonate with you? If you're interested in enhancing your approach to lived experience representation or curious to learn more about Salim's adventures, Please email Nina Chesworth, Lived Experience and Campaigns Coordinator, Visionary   or Salim Patel, Journalist and Program Manager for the BBC News, North West. 

You can also follow Salim’s adventures on his YouTube channel (opens new window) 

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode. 

Our fifth guests at the Visionary virtual coffee table are Lowri Bartrum and Nia Green of Vision Support. Lowri and Nia joined us for discussion about lived experience representation, examining both personal viewpoints and its

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast and are thinking about how you can improve lived experience representation within your organisation, we would love to hear from you. Please email Nina Chesworth, Lived Experience and Campaigns Coordinator, Visionary or Lowri Bartrum CEO, Vision Support, Nia Greer, North Wales Services Manager, Vision Support 

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode.

Thank you to Lowri Bartrum, CEO, and Nia Greer, North Wales

Lowri and Nia joined us for discussion about lived

Inspired by our discussion? Whether you're looking to

Nina Chesworth, Lived Experience and Campaigns Coordinator,

Lowri Bartrum CEO, Vision

Nia

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who

Our eighth guest at the Visionary virtual coffee table is Emma Tracey of the BBC.

Emma talks about lived experience representation, offering a unique perspective on its role both in her life and across the sector. Emma candidly shared her personal journey, shedding light on her aspirations for a more inclusive future. The conversation extended beyond the sight loss sector, touching on Emma's entry into the industry and highlighting memorable moments from the Access All podcast.  

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast and are thinking about how you can improve lived experience representation within your organisation, we would love to hear from you.

You can listen to Emma’s podcast on the BBC website. 

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode. 

Our seventh guests at the Visionary virtual coffee table are Iain Pearson and Andrew Coleman of Galloways.

Iain and Andrew talk about lived experience representation and how that looks for them individually and for Galloways. Andrew shared his personal thoughts and experiences along with Iain's thoughts on the sector and the great work Galloways is doing. 

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast and are thinking about how you can improve lived experience representation within your organisation, we would love to hear from you.  Please email Nina Chesworth, Lived Experience and Campaigns Co-ordinator, Visionary or Andrew Coleman, Learning and Lifestyles Skills Manager, Galloways.

You can find out more about the Galloways on their website (opens new window) 

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode.  

Our sixth guest at the Visionary virtual coffee table is Holly Tuke from RNIB.  

Holly talks about lived experience representation, both from Holly's personal perspective and its impact on the whole sector. Holly shared her career highlights, including her favourite social media campaign, and offered her valuable thoughts on what an inclusive future would look like. 

You can follow Holly on social media.   

X: @lifeofablindgirl 

Instagram: Life of a blind girl 

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode.  

Our fourth guest at the Visionary virtual coffee table is the Visionary Team.

We enjoyed a conversation exploring both current initiatives and exciting future plans. Our discussion highlighted key services and gives listeners the opportunity to get to know our team, as we share our experiences, key areas of focus and offer a glimpse into the impact of their work. 

You can get in touch with Visionary team by email or visit our website (opens a new window) 

 Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode.  

Our third guest at the Visionary virtual coffee table is Kerry Firth of Fight for Sight.

Kerry talks about the future of lived experience representation and its vital role at Fight for Sight. Kerry shared valuable insights on how embedding lived experience at the heart of projects can strengthen funding opportunities. This authentic representation isn't just a practice for Fight for Sight - it's fundamental to their identity and mission. 

Fight for Sight website

Our first guest at the Visionary virtual coffee table is Craig Spalding, CEO of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans.

Craig talks enthusiastically about their plans to increase representation and shares the language Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans uses around lived experience, along with how they have developed the organisation's language.

If you enjoyed the chat and are thinking about how you can improve lived experience representation within your organisation, we'd love to hear from you. Email Nina, Lived Experience and Campaigns Coordinator at Visionary or Craig Spalding. 

Thank you to Andre Lewis Shorts who provided the music and Steve Nutt at Computer Rooms who edited the episode.