Incoming BCA Directors: Garry Adler and Stefan Slucki

THEME/ID  0:00
New Horizons.
It's up to you and me to shine a guiding light and lead the way.
United by our cause, we have power to pursue what we believe
We'll achieve the realisation of our dreams...

GRAEME  0:30
Hello and welcome to this episode of New Horizons. I'm Graeme Innes, thanks for joining us. Last week, we spoke to Vaughan Bennison, President Elect of Blind Citizens Australia. He'll take up the mantle at the AGM on the fifth of December this year. And if you haven't registered for the AGM, you can do that through the BCA website or by calling the office on one, 800 zero, double three, double six. Oh, I'll give that number again at the end of the program this week, we speak to two of three newly elected directors to the board of Blind Citizens Australia. We're speaking to Garry Adler and Stefan Sluki. We reached out to the third elected director, Rajdeep Reddy, but he hasn't responded at the time that we're recording the program, so we'll get a chance to speak to him later on. 

So let's start with you Garry - briefly, can you tell us the Garry Adler story?

GARRY  1:32
Yes, well, it begins rather similarly to our president, Vaughn. Actually, I was born in New Zealand. And raised in New Zealand, I went also to home. I college for some years before going to high school, and that was mainstreamed, but it was not as successful in those days as it could have been, but I managed and got through everything. I then began work in telecommunications and moved to Australia at the age of 23 after an overseas trip. I then began work in telecommunications over here, and I was made redundant some 20 years later, and managed to get a job in the superannuation industry. And that also went for just over 20 years, when I finally decided it was time to hang up the boots and well, here I am.

GRAEME  2:45
Tell us about your history, Stefan.

STEFAN   2:48
Oh, Graham, I was born in Melbourne. I was born with congenital glaucoma, but I had some sight till I was 18, and I always learnt Braille at school. I wasn't mainstreamed during my education. Learnt touch typing, so that set me up well for the transition to computerisation. When that finally came, at the end of high school, I began a theology degree in Melbourne, and became, eventually a parish minister in the Presbyterian Church, and that's been my life's work. And for a time toward the middle of my service, I also taught Braille in Adelaide for a period of years, which I greatly enjoyed, and which got me involved more with Blind Citizens Australia as well, and I retired formally in 2020. 

GRAEME  3:51
What's been your involvement with Blind Citizens Australia? 

STEFAN   3:55
Well, in Adelaide, I served on the executive committee, and I even had the privilege of being president there for a year before leaving Adelaide, and then, once again, went into the country. So since 2020 I've been involved with the Queensland branch as the secretary of that branch. I should also say that I've had the privilege in the last year or so of being on the National Policy Council.

GRAEME   4:27
Garry, tell us about your journey with BCA, please.

GARRY  1 4:30
Well, that began in 1991 there was a bit of a stoush going on at that time with the government regarding blind pensions, and I was advised strongly to get involved, because it was a bit of a fight. Actually. In fact, we were, we were up against it at one point, but I'm I was very happy to join because I had always wanted to give something back. I didn't really get overly involved until I went to, I think my first conference was probably in 2007 and I've gone to just about everyone since that date. But it... sort of took on more of a story - like Stefan, I retired about three or four years ago, and at that stage, I really did want to get involved. 

And the opportunity came up when the peer group started, and I took on the role of leader of the peer group regarding employment. That's always been a big issue for me, because I've really understood that people need a lot of help in some cases where it comes when it comes to employment.

GRAEME   5:52
Garry, tell me why did you decide to stand for the board at this election?

GARRY   5:59
Well, I was approached by a current board member, and we talked about it, and I thought, well, you know, you've always wanted to get more involved, and I felt that this was a great opportunity to really spread the wings, as it were, and just be upfront, you know, regarding the issues that I think we're all confronted with along the way. And I just felt that the board was a great place to be for many of those issues.

GRAEME   6:39
Stefan, did you have a similar situation with your decision to nominate

STEFAN  6:45
Yes, Graham, I was also approached by a currently serving board member and being able to look over the general workings of the organization, offer advice and be there as part of the policy making and advice giving body, which the board of directors are, I consider it a great privilege to serve in that way, as many have been of help to me over the over the journey. So, yes.

GRAEME  7:25
Excellent. Now I'm going to ask you both to comment on this, but let me start with you, Garry - what do you see as the as the three key issues facing BCA today?

GARRY  7:38
Well, I think the the elephant in the room is always funding. I think, as an organisation, we've done well when we've had the money, but unfortunately, we've had to curtail or drop things when the money isn't available. And that, to me, is probably one of the greatest problems we've got. Also, I think, you know, so many programs have started and then had to be let go or curtailed because of that issue. And I think the other issue we have to face up to is probably keeping our members involved and informed. I really believe that in some cases we in the last few years and COVID had a lot to do with it, but we've sort of not had the number of conferences I'd like to have seen, we seem to have, we stopped in 2019 and it won't be until next year that we really managed to get together as... an organisation. 

And I do personally believe that that is still very important. I know a lot of people can't always afford to come to some of these conferences, but I do believe that they're very important, and they're a great way of ensuring that we do get together with people, and people get to know each other. Many people know each other now in their own way, but I think it's great if... you have that platform.

GRAEME  9:29
Stefan, what's your thoughts?

STEFAN  9:30
Certainly funding and maintaining a steady, dependable, if at all possible, source and stream of funding, so that the programs that Garry was talking about can be consistently rolled out. And I think yes, with as far as the membership is concerned, seeking to maintain contact with existing members, but also reaching out to our. New members, be it from the communities that we represent and from a diversity of ethnicities as well, so that the organization can can flourish. One of my great delights as a secretary of the Queensland committee has been speaking with incoming members, new members, and as it were, scratching where they itch, to provide tool kits and so on to them and advise them of the services that we provide and where necessary, what other agencies provide as well.

GRAEME  10:39
Let me take you to policy for a moment. Garry, what do you see as several policy issues that are important for BCA to be focusing on or moving on in the next 12 months? So the first year of your time on the board? 

GARRY  10:56
Yeah, I think it is important, I think, to educate. I've often said that educate, educate, educate is probably the biggest issue we have. And having been involved in the employment group, one of the things that I noticed was that we could talk to employers, but it was a case of making them understand that blind people or visually impaired people more than capable of managing in the workforce. There's still a big stigma out there in terms of whether it's fear of health and safety, or whether it's just a general sort of, oh, I don't think these people can do it. Having had a very successful career myself, I know that it is a case of having to ensure the employer that this is what you're capable of. 

So to me, that's very important. It's something I'd like to push as a policy of ensuring that we do go out there and educate both employers and, in many cases, the public at large.

STEFAN  12:17
I think the support of students in schools is is a very important aspect to set young people up with solid backgrounds so that they can be ready to go out into the workforce. I think that's a very important thing. And of course, the NDIS is something and the changes that are taking place. Yeah, we need support, and we and BCA needs to play a leading role in advising our current members and also advocating with government about that. 

GRAEME  12:54
You've both come along with some background and energy to provide input to BCA, what issue do you hope to change in the time that you're on the board? Let's start with you, Stefan.

STEFAN  13:06
I think the promotion of our organisation in terms of attracting new members.

GRAEME  13:15
And Garry, if you could change something in BCA, what would the Garry Adler change be?

GARRY 1 13:21
I think it's very important that we do reach out, particularly to the younger cohort. I sometimes think that as older members, or those of us who've been around a little while went through a system, the younger generation have been more mainstream, and perhaps they don't have the connection to BCA that we we do have. We also have to ensure that as an organisation, we are known, and we have to be a little more consistent, I think, in terms of where we're going, they are sort of the main issues that we're faced with, and that's that, to me, is quite important. It's something we need to push.

GRAEME  14:11
If you'd like to get in touch with BCA or to register for the Annual General Meeting, you can visit bca.org.au, or you can call 1 800 033 660 - that's BCA dot org dot AU, or call one 800 O, double-3, double-6 O.  I'm Graham Innes. New Horizons will be back again next week. 

THEME/ID  14:39
We'll achieve the realisation of our dreams, of our dreams...