by Stephen Jolley
A little while ago I was asked to reflect on our wonderful gathering in June 2025. I was invited to compare this 50th Anniversary event with the original modest assembly, three months following a small meeting to ‘bounce the ball’ in March 1975.
The elder statesman of the group was 57-year-old Hugh Jeffrey. That meeting was chaired by an already outstanding leader in our community, 40-year-old David Blyth. The feisty, passionate and high achieving Philis Gration was there. Amongst the energetic young brigade was 21-year-old Bill Jolley. We resolved at that meeting to form The National Federation of Blind Citizens (Australia), NFBCA. The first convention took place in Melbourne 13 weeks later on June 7, 1975. More on that shortly.
So, the 50th Anniversary BCA Convention held from June 13 to 15, 2025 was an outstanding success. The venue was the Novotel Glen Waverley, which lived up to its reputation of excellence for accessible facilities, prime location and dedication to ensuring an inclusive experience for all attendees with more than 20 accompanied by dog guides.
There were sessions reflecting upon the 50-year history of our organisation, considering current challenges such as making the best use of the NDIS and harnessing that friend or foe – artificial intelligence, affectionately known as AI. There were a couple of hypothetical sessions to trigger the imagination. All, packaged in a wonderful Melbourne setting, with 48 hours of camaraderie, work and play. No need to detail all the business sessions, you can find them on YouTube, safely residing on the BCA channel. Amazingly, we had no idea in 1975 of that extraordinary audio capability being possible.
Away from the business sessions there was plenty to do as participants reunited with old acquaintances and made new ones. This activity was highlighted by the Convention dinner on the Saturday night including the traditional presentation of the David Blyth Award. The recipient was John Machin, a tireless worker in those early days laying the foundation for the culture of sound recording and preservation of BCA Conventions. John’s loyalty and commitment over the 50 years is a striking example of the lifelong service of many in our organisation.
The success of the event would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the BCA staff and volunteers, led by CEO Deb Deshayes and President at the time, Vaughn Bennison.
Not surprisingly, the contrast between last year’s grand event and the modest first convention in 1975 is worth contemplating. Last year the program, venue documentation and much more was produced in the format of choice encompassing large print, Braille, audio or electronic distribution. In 1975, large print program with resolutions for consideration were typed and duplicated. The braille manually transcribed via a Perkins Brailler to paper. The paper was placed under individual sheets of plastic, baked to suck up the dot impressions in a process known as thermoform.
Attendees predominantly from Melbourne, met in a meeting room at the Association for the Blind at Kooyong numbering around 40 people. The dinner was a modest event at a nearby Chinese restaurant in Hawthorn. There was interest from our friends in NSW over what was happening and it took only two years for them to host the first convention outside Melbourne in Sydney.
It is reasonable to assume BCA was established to address a long-time appetite amongst blind and vision impaired Australians to have the opportunity to drive the availability and coordination of services. It was extremely rare for anyone from our community to serve as a director or in senior management of a blindness service provision organisation. Our workers and professionals were organised in their separate entities, but there was no broad based single united vehicle for individual participation and influence. So, a national federation was formed and with limited numbers and few resources, got stuck into the work.
High on the agenda in those initial days, was the challenge to break down those barriers which were keeping blind people out of board rooms and away from senior management. There were other burning issues too, such as how best to take advantage of the opportunities the introduction of community radio might bring for access to print content and as a platform for a public voice. The quest for pedestrian safety was another motivating factor, leading eventually to the introduction of audible traffic signals around the country. Social security support, enhancing education and employment opportunities, like today, were high on people’s minds.
There was a fire there that may not be so prevalent today. So much is perceived to be in place. Perhaps there is no longer the clarity for many, that we need to collaborate and organise to get things done.
The reality is that the work is not done. What will there be for us, in the future NDIS into the coming decades? How do we maintain a strong presence in the ever-changing work environment?
Clearly, there isn’t the need to seek out issues, but the responsibility to identify what is significant at any time and address it to ensure that our community is not squeezed out but can take advantage of emerging opportunities.
Perhaps in 50 years’ time we will reflect on debates over:
- A swing to government and non-profit support from loving and companionable, highly competent dog guides to the impeccable guidance and more cost-effective electronic mobility aids.
- The matter of blind people having the option to hold a license to operate a fully autonomous driverless vehicle?
It is even not too far-fetched to contemplate a situation where the government and not-for-profit organisations might decline support for families where genetic advanced analysis established that the children they choose to bring into the world, will be born with a significant disability. A bundle of issues there.
So, in the coming decades, agendas will change but not the need to be organised. Who would have thought 50 years ago that much of our attention would be given over to adequate access to a phenomenon called the internet.
As time rolls on, the way we do things will continue to evolve. The rise of the online setting of Zoom and later Microsoft Teams was a boon in the COVID days and still is a useful vehicle for getting much done. Internet-connected people from anywhere in the country ‘can be in the room’. For our own personal well-being though, the full in person environment must be our priority for major gatherings. It has been wonderful to fulfill the dream of the early days of taking the event beyond the venue through internet and radio. However, this is no substitute for the fellowship outside business sessions, of physical embrace, sharing a drink and having a good yarn that an in-person event brings.
The BCA Convention of 2025 was a wonderful occasion. We were able to celebrate 50 years of foundation, growth and making a difference for blind and vision impaired Australians. In addition, we were able to celebrate the return of the in-person gathering, after a COVID triggered hiatus. Well done to all who put the convention of 2025 together and to each participant who attended making it an outstanding event.