Reflections from the Blind Citizens Australia 50th Anniversary Convention ‘25: ‘Individually, and together, we create change’

Over a wintry weekend in Melbourne, Blind Citizens Australia (BCA), a national representative organisation for people who are blind or vision impaired, hosted their biannual Convention.  

Jane Britt, our Senior Consultant was in attendance and spoke on one of the panels. In this blog, Jane reflects on the discussion during the Convention, which coincided with celebrating 50 years of BCA.  

From 13^th to 15^th June 2025, over 140 people in-person and dozens more online, gathered for a jam-packed weekend of panel discussions, community engagement and collaboration. The conference was 3 days of invigorating and refreshing discussion. It covered the history of BCA, advocacy in multiple forms, and developments in Australian disability policy including access to the NDIS and transformative Artificial Intelligence (AI).  

Charting a history of Australian blind advocacy

Over the course of the Convention, past Presidents, CEOs and BCA members reflected on the formation of BCA in 1975, taking Convention attendees on a journey from inception through to the present day, reflecting on BCA’s role in Australian disability rights history, including a key role in advocacy for more inclusive and accessible communications.  

It covered the early days of radio broadcasts and cassette tapes being mailed out, to modern day communications by emailing lists and videoconferencing, which become a critical engagement tool during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

This naturally led to discussion of BCA’s largest advocacy campaigns, including a push to get audio description to national television services (TV4All) with a fabulous short film called Lobster underscoring the importance of audio description. Lobster can be watched at this link.

Other campaigns have included:  

• Audio tactile pedestrian button installation across crossings throughout Australia

• Accessible banking facilities after a successful legal challenge to the introduction of the touchscreen Albert terminal

• Advocacy for electric and hybrid vehicles to be fitted with technology to make a sound when idling or travelling at slow speeds for pedestrian safety – this was successful with the announcement that an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) will be adopted in Australia, as per the UN regulation

• The introduction of Unified English Braille (UEB)

• The push for independent, secret and verifiable federal, state/territory and local voting options using digital platforms – this advocacy is ongoing.

The changing face of independence: Support work and AI

A key theme during the conference was the nature of independence for people who are blind or vision impaired.  

The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) afforded opportunities to open up to people through assistance of support workers, however it has also challenged how independence looks for people who are blind or vision impaired.  

Leading the panel discussion was Emma Bennison, Chief Innovation Officer of Life Without Barriers. Panellists concluded that support workers can help to foster greater independence if the support is strongly directed by the person asking for it, to ensure that anyone who is blind or vision impaired can exercise independence to act alone when required.

Continuing a theme around independence, a panel, led by Vaughn Bennison, President of BCA and CEO of Disability Voices Tasmania, also explored the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although AI has benefits for assisting with some tasks, the use of it for visual recognition of objects has been quite hit and miss.  

For AI to be a viable option to support independence, panellists agreed it needs to improve and its uses designed and tested with people who are blind and vision impaired.  

Looking to the future

A constant theme across the Convention was the future of blindness policy and advocacy in Australia.  

From the probing ‘You Can’t Ask That – Blindness’ panel to the final cracking hypothetical board meeting held in the year 2050, chaired by Dr Graeme Innes AM, panellists looked to sustainability of Australian blindness advocacy, aided by robotic assistance in a world impacted by medical advancements for sight restoration, and climate change.  

While it remains to be seen if ‘peebots’ – the term coined for our robotic support workers – will be a part of the landscape moving forward, the takeaway from this Convention is that the future of blindness advocacy is in capable, and passionate hands.  

Beyond that, a major takeaway is that the advocacy campaigning discussed at this Convention must extend outwards with allies joining in, championing accessibility and inclusion in all areas of life.  

Taking cues from this Convention, there’s a chance for people to champion the issues already impacting people who are blind or vision impaired. This extends from the existing issues of a lack of audio description across free-to-air television and a lack of access to independent voting options, to emerging issues like ensuring that widespread adoption of AI doesn’t inadvertently leave people who are blind or vision impaired behind.

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