Freya Wolf

Barbara Sullivan 0:02

With information on the latest developments in assistive technology and initiatives from the studios of 2RPH in Sydney and around the country on the Radio Reading Network of Australia, we bring you Ablequest. Hello. I'm Barbara Sullivan.

Today's guest is Freya Wolf, a champion of disability rights with expertise in fostering diversity and inclusion. She is also a human rights advocate, consultant and facilitator of expert advisory groups, including creating safe spaces for sensual, embodied dance. Freya lives with severe vision impairment, yet has created many video presentations for organisations such as the CBA, the E-Safety Commission, the New South Wales Government and people with disabilities Australia. Her advocacy spans a broad spectrum from research reports to poetry, press releases and presentations. 

Freya is one of five participants in the podcasting and radio internship held on Fridays at Radio 2RPH, in association with Disability Media Australia. Elaine Wziontek spoke with her in the studio during a break in the workshop. They talked about the course and how she has overcome everyday challenges, partly with the help of technology such as meta smart classes with advanced AI features and hands-free accessibility.

Elaine Wziontek 1:30

Welcome to Ablequest. Freya.

Freya Wolf 1:32

Thank you. It's lovely to be here.

Elaine Wziontek 1:35

So I believe you've been a participant in the podcasting radio internship at 2RPH. What's that been like?

Freya Wolf 1:42

It's been wonderful. It's been a really rare opportunity. It's a wonderful group, a small group of us learning to podcast everything from story capture to interview skills to editing and creating soundscapes. So it's been a really thought-provoking experience. And I love audio content myself, both podcasts and audio books and radio, so I'm really thrilled to be getting involved and to be getting the opportunity for some really hands on training and a lot of support with that as well, because I do use a screen reader and lots of assistive technology, so it's nice to be in this environment as well, where there's a lot of understanding and support around assistive technology as well.

Elaine Wziontek 2:34

I believe it's a nine week program. Is that right? Every Friday?

Freya Wolf 2:37

Yes, every Friday for nine weeks. And the idea is that we each create an audio piece by the end of the program. So that's really exciting. And I'm a very creative person and love story as well. So it's really exciting to be working on a goal like that.

Elaine Wziontek 2:57

So tell me about your lived experience with vision impairment and how you've been able to overcome challenges.

Freya Wolf 3:05

I have been diagnosed with a retinal condition. The diagnosis has changed a little over time, but I was diagnosed when I was seven years old, and it's progressive. I'm now in my early 40s, and I didn't really get a lot of support, and perhaps didn't need as much support when I was younger, but into my 20s and my 30s and now my 40s, my vision has deteriorated quite a lot, so I've begun using a cane, and a few years ago, I had to learn to rely on a screen reader, so stopped really being able to read print at all. So it's been quite the journey to really get my head around how to do just the basics of life using a lot of assistive technology and other supports.

Elaine Wziontek 4:05

So I understand you've got the Meta Smart Glasses now, and they're equipped with AI features. Has that been helpful to help with your daily tasks?

Freya Wolf 4:14

Yes, it's been amazing. So there have been a lot of apps around for quite a while, where you could point your phone at labels or take a photo of a document and it could be read out apps like Be My Eyes or seeing AI, those are useful, but I'm someone who tends to resist technology, But with the smart classes, it's really great because you can put them on and immediately wherever you angle to look as though you would be looking to read something. It's captured in the camera. So you don't need to worry about trying to make sure that in the phone camera. Capturing what you're trying to get described. 

So it's very seamless. You just put them on like glasses, and I mean, they have lots of fun features that you can take photos and video. And again, it's easier as a blind person to capture even friends and family in a photo when you're wearing the camera, rather than trying to hold and angle a camera at something you can't see. And I think what's really interesting about the Meta Smart Glasses as well is that they're obviously not the first smart glasses that have been designed specifically for people who are blind or have low vision, but they've been quite expensive, so quite unaffordable to a lot of the community. 

And interestingly, with the Meta Smart Glasses, they are designed for the mainstream community, which makes them much more affordable, and I think the accessibility features that they offer are quite unintended. I don't think that they were really considering the blind and low vision community, but it's almost like an incidental benefit that they can act as smart glasses and describe labels, they can read menus. They can also be connected with WhatsApp, so you can connect with someone on WhatsApp, or be my eyes, and they can literally see what you're seeing. So I know people are using them to get directions through an airport.

Elaine Wziontek 6:35

For example, do you have to say, Hey, Meta, find my way to the airport? Find my way to Virgin Airlines? Or What am I seeing?

Freya Wolf 6:43

Yeah, like, Hey, Google... yes, yes, no, it is like that. And they do lots of other things that you can say, Hey Meta, message this person, you know, like you would with Siri or Google. But you can also then say, Hey Meta, read the label on the bottle I'm holding. Or, Hey Meta, tell me the vegetarian options on the menu. Then say, Hey Meta, connect with Be My Eyes, and it requires a bit of setup. So it's not super simple to set it up, but once they're set up and paired with your phone and all that sort of thing, then yeah, you can say, Hey Meta, connect with Be My Eyes, and they'll just double-check that you want to connect with the volunteer on Be My Eyes, and then you're actually speaking to a human who's looking through your glasses. Then you can just basically tell them whatever you want help with. 

So it's got both an AI feature, but also a feature where you can connect to a volunteer. They're really handy, and compared to a lot of the blindness-specific glasses and products, they're quite affordable. And the other thing that I think people really enjoy about them, and this is based on the large Facebook groups I'm a part of that are all about the glasses, is that they look pretty good. Apparently, they look fashionable, and you don't look like you're wearing some, you know, very strange assistive technology device. But instead, they're kind of a fashion item as well. And you can get them in transitions, or for people with light sensitivity, you can get very dark lenses, prescription lenses. So they're a real breakthrough. 

Elaine Wziontek

And would you use them every day? 

Freya Wolf

Yeah, I would say that I do, and I know a lot of people who will wear them all day. I am a little bit sensitive to Bluetooth and EMF, or I'm aware of those sorts of issues, so I don't wear them all day, every day, and I have a mild prescription, and I'm not really used to wearing glasses on my face, so I will really just put them on when I want to read something. So I like having them with me whenever I go out, in case I want to read labels on things in shops or prices or whatever. And it's also handy because they just work as a headset as well, so you can listen to music or speak to people on the phone. They're a good backup to my AirPods. 

I would say, I do use them every day, and I use them at home a lot as well I can if I'm culling or going through the pantry, they're really useful to just identify what I want to keep and what I want to throw out and all that sort of thing. So yeah, they've been a worthwhile and a fun investment.

Elaine Wziontek 9:16

That sounds great. So you call yourself many things, but one of the things you call yourself is an inclusion activator. So what is that?

Freya Wolf 9:25

So I'm really passionate about inclusion and belonging. I have worked in the disability advocacy space for about 15 years, and I've also worked in the multicultural disability advocacy space, and also the anti violence movement and the Women's Safety movement. I worked on a project where I was also creating more accessible and inclusive services in the New South Wales domestic and family violence sector for quite a long time, and I'm really passionate about.... creating communities and a society where really we can genuinely welcome everyone and and ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging. 

And I think we're really just at a tipping point when it comes to inclusion for people with disability, I do a lot of work speaking at events, and I'm an ambassador for the Australian Human Rights Commission around an equality at work projects. So a big project, they've got to create more meaningful employment for people with disability in the community, which is such a major issue, because meaningful employment is so fundamental to our sense of belonging and our ability to contribute and feel that sense of worth - not that I think worth is about how productive we are - but yeah, really creating that sense of belonging and equality, not to mention the financial benefits that come from meaningful employment for people with disabilities. 

So that's just some of the inclusion activation that I do. And the other thing that I do is embodied movement and central embodied dance, which I also see as being part of inclusion - because that's really about connecting with our experience that our body is having, so all the emotions, all the feelings, all the experiences that we have in life, and just making sure that we make space for those and acknowledge those and accept those, and are able to move with those and through those experiences in a way that allows us to connect more fully with life.

Elaine Wziontek 11:51

So you actually run these dance classes, do you? You know, do you do that every week, every month, or when you're asked to at an event?

Freya Wolf 11:58

Yes, at the moment, it's more when I'm asked to at an event. I have got some regular classes that will be coming soon, but the moment, it's something I'm doing for bigger events, some of the disability expos coming up. And I also work on a project called Safe for Me, Safe for You, which is around creating social and sexual safety for people with disabilities. So they've got a big online event coming up, and I'll be doing some of that embodied movement combined with some storytelling and poetry at that event. But yeah, I am looking to host some regular online and in-person classes coming soon.

Elaine Wziontek 12:44

So it seems like you've achieved a lot - but what ambitions have you still got, and how can people get in touch with you?

Freya Wolf 12:50

Well, in terms of ambitions, I would say, I mean, I'm really enjoying this creative podcasting project that I'm doing, so I'm really excited about that. And, yeah, just continuing deepening into my offerings of embodied movement, as well as some of the high level advocacy that I'm doing through the Australian Human Rights Commission. And I'm just, I'm excited and lit up just by the different opportunities that present themselves. And I sort of almost feel like I go where I'm asked at the moment.

Elaine Wziontek 13:27

So how can people get in touch with you if they'd like to hear more about what you can do? Obviously, you've got a website, haven't you?

Freya Wolf 13:33

Yeah. So my website is Freya Wolf dot com, and there's a contact form there that people could fill out.

Elaine Wziontek 13:41

So the web... so the website is Freya - F, R, E, Y, A, Wolf - W, O, L, F, dot com.

Freya Wolf 13:48

Yes.

Elaine Wziontek 13:49

Okay. Thank you, Freya. Thank you so much. Been great talking to you. It's been a pleasure. And I've just been speaking to Freya Wolf, a disability rights consultant.

Barbara Sullivan 14:00

You have just been listening to Ablequest, a program that looks at developments in assistive technology and initiatives. From Elaine Wziontek and Barbara Sullivan, thank you for listening and goodbye till next program.