Fashioneyesta at the Vision UK Conference 2015 #VisionUK2015

22nd June 2015

Greetings Everyone!
Welcome back to fashioneyesta.com!

Today i have a blog for you on the recent even I went to known as the Vision UK Conference 2015. Now some of you might already know about this if you follow me on twitter (cough @DavisonEm.) Basically for those of you who don’t know Vision UK is a massive conference that takes place in Westminster, London every year and it is one of the biggest conferences for sight loss where charities, speakers and eye health specialists go to take part in the event. I was invited to take part in the event in Stream 4 as a speaker by Blind Children UK. Stream 4 was called A World Without Barriers For Visually impaired Children and Young People. The production company known as UK which are a Cardiff based drama group whose members have visual impairments and they are fantastic group were taking part as they were asked to do a piece around social media and two of the girls from the group (the lovely Mared and Megan) who were two subscribers of mine mentioned me and said about how much they enjoyed my videos after seeing my video on the Top Ten Misconceptions about Visual Impairment. They mentioned about me to the organisers and it just so happened the organisers knew me! And then after a long Skype chat i became chums with Meg and Mared and then we started to work on a piece all about social media.

The girls also have a YouTube channel called Blind Not Bored click here to view it.

The day was truly amazing, fun packed and it was incredible to meet so many amazing and inspiring people like Chris Holmes, Robin Spinx and many others. I learnt so much and got to find out about so many exciting new projects and work that charities are doing to empower young people.

There was lots of different charities and organisations exhibition their work and people from charities such as Guide Dogs, Victa Children and Seebility gave talks throughout the day during the stream.

UCAN also delivered three fantastic pieces in the morning about visual impairment and some of the misconceptions and hardships around being visually impaired.

Vlog

View the Vlog

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfJvFLn4nEE&w=853&h=480]

Presentation Video

View the presentation video

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDjGJaMK6wU&w=853&h=480]

Any you can subscribe to my YouTube by clicking here.

If you are interested in knowing more about UCAN productions you can visit their website by clicking here.

Transcript

Below is the transcript of the presentation

Disclaimer: Meg and Mared wrote the scrip for this presentation I just transcribed responses to the questions.

Mared – Social Media! What is it?
Megan – What does it do?
Mared – What’s the point?
Megan – Why does it exist?
Mared – Why are people so obsessed with it?
Megan – Why has it taken over the world?
Mared – These are big questions but here’s our theory!
Megan – Everyone is equal
Mared – You tell the world what you want them to know
Megan – They don’t who you are.
Mared – They can’t see you
Megan – You’re in control.
Mared – Everyone is looking for something
Megan – Something that’s missing
Mared – Friends
Megan – Family
Mared – Support
Megan – Education
Mared – inspiration
Megan – Love
Mared – Internet Dating
Megan – Love
Mared – Thai bride.
Megan – Ideas
Mared – Pintrest
Megan – No that’s just stealing other people’s ideas
Mared – Motivation
Megan – Katie Hopkins
Mared – Gillian Michaels
Megan – The one legged man on ninja warrior UK
Mared – Trends
Megan – Blue and Black
Mared – No, White and Gold
Megan – Role model – Famous blind people
Mared – Did you know Johnny Depp is blind in one eye?
Megan – What’s wrong with me?
Mared – Now’s not the time
Megan – no, I mean medically
Mared – ohh what, like when you google it?
Megan – Yeah!
Mared – NHS Choices
Megan – Advice
Mared – WikiHow
Megan – No, I mean good advice
Mared – ohh, like the old lady doctor on this morning
Megan – Community
Mared – Season 3
Megan – Entertainment
Mared – Netflix
Megan – Youtube
Mared – We went looking for something
Megan – We went looking for something?
Mared – A role model
Megan – Famous blind people?
Mared – Did you know Johnny Depp is blind in one eye?
Megan – A role model, friend
Mared – support
Megan – Inspiration
Mared – Advice
Megan – Someone just like me
Mared – Why?
Megan – Why were we looking for this?
Mared – Growing up I didn’t have a role model
Megan – I Couldn’t find a role model
Mared – No one who represented me
Megan – No one who represented me
Mared – So we went looking
Megan – Online
Mared – Through blogs
Megan – Anything that inspired
Mared – Or connected
Both – Us
Megan – No one represents Disability
Mared – Diversity
Megan – Let alone more specifically
Both – Visual Impairment.
Mared – I don’t see myself on TV
Megan – I’m not the protagonist in any of the books I read
Mared – I’m not the leading lady in any film
Megan – I’m not news worthy
Mared – I’m not the fashionable topic of conversation
Megan – or trends
Mared – BUT it only took ONE thing
Megan – ONE person
Mared – to make us realize
Megan – That change
Both – CAN HAPPEN
Megan – Ohh my God have you heard of fashioneyesta
Mared – Yeahh I follow her on twitter
Megan Yeahh I follow her on facebook
Mared – and youtube
Megan – and Instagram
Mared – did you read that article she did?
Megan – The scope one?
Mared – Yeah
Megan – Yeah
Mared – The top ten misconceptions about visual impairment
Megan – Yeah ohh my god it was amazing I felt like she was writing about me
Mared – I literally say the same thing
Megan – You’re so trendy! You don’t look blind!
Megan – Fashioneyesta is an online Fashion and Lifestyle blog for people with sight loss aiming to bridge the gap between fashion and disability and seeks to change people’s perceptions towards disability.
Mared – My name is Emily Davison and-
(At this point Emily barges in)
Emily – No! I’m Emily Davison What are you doing??
Emily-Hi Everyone i’m Emily Davison I’m 20 years of age, I’m a student, writer, blogger and I make YouTube videos. The aim of what I do is to show that disability doesn’t define you it just make you into an even more awesome person than you were before.
(Turns and sees the girls have set up an interview_
Hello…
Mared – (whispers) whilst you’re here do you mind if we interview you?
Megan – It our dream
Mared – Pleasee!
Emily – Yes
(The interview begins)
Megan: How would you describe your blog?
My blog is a cocktail its a bit of everything. It’s a place for fashion and beauty thing for anyone who loves to look after themselves and see the review on the latest products. But, it’s also a place of things that are less common like videos on living with a visual impairment.
So, yeah its a cocktail.
Mared: Nice we do love a cocktail!
Megan: Why did you start Fashioneyesta?
I started Fashioneyesta after hearing a comment from someone at a tube station who didn’t realise I had a guide dog and when he saw I had one he said ‘Oh I’m sorry you don’t look blind.’ It got me thinking about why people misconceive sight impairments so much and why people always seem to think visually impaired people have to be thrumpy. But not only that I wanted to make a place where people with visual impairments could get advice on fashion and beauty. So, its about helping people as well as changing perceptions towards visual impairment
Mared: What’s the future of Fashioneyesta?
I want to expand and continue to work with people, I want to get bigger and to create a bigger community. But, I a also want to work with new people and continue to do what I do which is to make the content I love
Mared: Choose one social media? Why?
Twitter, because its an interactive forum where people can do lots of things, its accessible and hey everyone loves a good selfie!
Meg: What is your favourite and least favourite thing about social media?
I love the community of social media and how I get to meet so many amazing pope. But’ I hate the trolling on sisal media and how people feel the need to put others down or to be say things but not in a diplomatic way. But, hey you gain more than you loose by being on the web.
Mared: What’s your favourite part/tag in your bolg?
I love the disability videos, like the top ten minscopceptionos of visual impairment, they are so fun and I guess they relate to me quite a lot and thats why people find them so fun. But, i do love filming a lookbook even though they are stressful they are funny because you get so many good bloopers out of it.
Mared: Yeah like when you say its a t shirt and its got Disney on it like no it doesn’t. And then you have to do it all over again.
Emily: (laughs) Yeah or when I say or hit says this and my mum says no Emily it says this or ‘its got a wipe with it and its like no it doesn’t its a glasses case…Thanks mum
Meg: Why are blogs similar to yours important?
Because they show people they are not alone and that if you have something to say then you should ge out there and say it.
Mared: Good answer!
Mared: How would you suggest organization’s reach out to their audience?
Use it in the here and now, social media is about what is in, what is current and whats big. Use it as a place to motivate and inspire don’t dwell on the past, show the youth of today that they can achieve their potetnioal but like social media they need to live in the moment and reach out and take it.
Quick Fire round!
Mared: Who’s your favourite blogger
Emily Charlotte Eades
Meg: Your last tweet?
Emily: A selfie of me coming onto the stage now.
Mared:The last thing you bought?
Emily: A sandwich
Mared: Oh nice!
Meg: The last thing that made you laugh?
Emily: A video on Viral Threads of a montage of clips of animals being silly with the song from Robin Hood in the background. You have to check it out on Facebook
Mared: The last thing that made you cry?
Emily: A tweet from Ricky Gervais on the Stop Yulin Campaign 2015 I won’t say what it is but it really upset me.
Meg: Last places you visited for a holiday?
Emily: Lake District
Meg: Custard or Ice-cream?
Emily: Ice-cream
Mared: Katie Hopkins as your mother or married to Farage?
Married to Farage because at least I can divorce him!
Meg: Mary Berry telling you, you have a soggy bottom or Simon Cowell stopping you mid song?
Emily: Simon Cowell to stop me mid song because I know I can’t sing anyway, so it wouldn’t make any difference to me.
Mared: He’s terrifying!
Emily: Yeah but I have a cute guide dog though and he loves dogs so it would soften the blow.
Mared: You thought that one through didn’t you!
Emily: Yeah I know right!
Mared: Who would you bring back to life?
Emily: Beatrix Potter
Meg: Ideal dinner guest?
Emily: Stephen Hawking.
Mared: Ok so you can only ever watch Game of Thrones or you can watch everything thing else but Game of Thrones?
Emily: Oh my god no Game of Thrones forever, I couldn’t be without Tyrien Lancaster!
Mared: Thats one hard core fan!
Emily: Die hard fan!
(Three of us stand up and stand in a line towards the audience.)
Mared – We have just shown you
Megan – How to engage an audience
Mared – That you want to reach
Megan – Please don’t think that social media
Mared – Equals
Megan – Facebook
Mared – Please don’t write Pages
Megan – and pages
Mared – Of text
Megan – Please don’t think that
Both – One
Megan – Tweet is enough
Both – Please just think outside the box!
Emily – Blog
M – Vlog
M – Podcast
Emily – Wrote an article about living with a visual Impairment
M – Made a video about living with Visual Impairment.
M – Recorded a podcast about living with a Visual impairment.
Emily – Posted it to Blog It.
M – Posted it to Youtube.
M – Posted it to Soundcloud.
Emily – Shared it on Facebook.
M – Tweeted a link.
M – Took a photo while making the podcast to post on Instagram.
Emily – Re-shared on Facebook.
M – Re-tweeted.
M – Liked on Instagram.
Emily – Got more followers.
M – Got more followers.
M – Got more followers.
Emily – Got a comment from someone named Molly in Canada.
M – Made a Youtube friend
M – Listened to by VI people around the world.
Emily – Inspired someone who was recently diagnosed.
M – Inspired someone to start a Youtube channel.
M – Inspired a VI person who’s struggling in school.
Emily – Read by and educated someone who didn’t know anything about Visual Impairment.
M – Helped someone understand his or her friends Visually Impairment.
M – Gave support and reassurance to parents of Vi children.
Emily – I got good feedback and decided to make the article into a Youtube video.
M – Because of the video I was interviewed and it became a podcast.
M – My podcast became an article for sight loss magazine.
All(the 3 of us) – You know what
Mared – Thanks to social media we’re all here today
Megan – Lets show you how.
Emily – I wrote an article and created a video about the Top Ten Misconceptions about living with a Visual Impairment.
Megan – I read that article.
Mared – I watched that video
Megan & Mared – I became a big fan of fashioneyesta.
Megan – We had a meeting with Blind Children UK about the VISION UK 2015 conference.
Mared – Of course we talked about Fashioneyesta
Megan – A lot
Emily – I had an email from Blind Children UK asking me to participate in the VISION UK 2015 conference alongside UCAN Productions.
Mared – Had another meeting with Blind Children UK.
Megan – Read the timetable
Mared – Social Media
Megan – UCAN Productions
Mared – and Fashioneyesta
All 3 – Confirmed
Megan – Had a skype meeting with Emily
Emily – Had a skype meeting with the girls from Ucan Productions
Mared – 2 and half hours later
Megan – First of June
Mared – My birthday
Emily – Travelled to Cardiff for a meeting and rehearsals for the conference.
Megan – and met the girls from UCAN Productions.
Emily – yeah, and met the girls from UCAN.
Mared – Second of June
Megan – rehearsal day
Emily – Vlog my time in Cardiff
Mared – Stared in Fashioneyesta’s latest Vlog
Emily – Posted it to youtube
Megan – We’re on youtube.
Emily – Tweeted the link
Mared – Retweeted
Emily – Shared on Facebook
Megan – Reshared
Emily – Eighteenth of June

All – VISION What I Wore

So, for my outfit to the event I also did a podcast over on my podcast channel that I co run called Fashionability if you are interested it will be embedded down below.

But, if not I will write a little description of my outfit.

So, on my feet I was wearing a pair of mint green suede loafers with faux gem dealing scattered across them and they were from Aldo in the sale last year. I was also wearing a pair of white jeans which were from Sainsbury, my white top with crochet detailing to the bottom was from New Look for £9.99 and it comes in an array of colours. My mint green scalloped edge blazer was from Primark which you may have seen if you saw my recent Primark Haul. My necklace is a white and silver beaded necklace with a white hassle at the end and that was from Monsoon and it was a recent purchase for £25. My watch is a Rose Gold watch and that was from Michael Korrs, my cream leather cuff charm bracelet was from Eternal Charms and it has three sterling silver charms on it one is a sea horse, one is a star fish and one is a little cuff charm. Finally, my bag is a mint green bag with gold dealing and it is the Charlotte Bag from Accessorise which was £39.

Shoes: Mint Green Loafers

From: Aldo (old stock)

Jeans: White Jeans

From: Sainsburys

Blazer: Mint Green Blazer

Price: £14

From: Primark (currently in stock)

Necklace: White Tassel Necklace

Price: £25

From: Monsoon

Link: Click here

Watch: Rose Gold Watch

From: Michael Kors

Bracelet: Ivory Cuff Charm Bracelet

From:Eternal Charms

Bag: Min Green ‘Charlotte Bag’

Price: £39

From: Accessorize

Link: Click here

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Twitter

Everyone was tweeting under the #VisionUK2015 and my twitter went a tad crazy on the day with so many amazing tweets and responses about the presentation that the girls from UCAN and myself did on social media. It was utterly insane.

What else was crazy was that so many people came up to talk to me on the day saying that they followed my blog and liked my work, for me I found this such a stronge thing to grasp that real life people read and liked my work. I mean this was how I got to the conference because Mared and Meg from UCAN had been following my work after my video on the Top Ten Misconceptions about Visual Impairment and wanted to have me a a pat of the event.

So, to any of you who came up to me on the day and complimented my work, I want to tell you how much I appreciate your words of kindness and support you’re comments made my day and it is because of you that I do what I do. So, thank you all from the bottom of my heart.