As highly respected NextSense Institute researcher and lecturer Dr Frances Gentle prepares to retire, we recognise her unwavering commitment to making the world a better place for people who are blind, deafblind or have low vision.

Throughout her 30-year career, Fran has been a passionate advocate for quality education for people who are blind, and her influence has extended to the Asia-Pacific region and further afield.

She recently retired as President of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, has been Co-President of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI), a member of the Editorial Committee for the SPEVI Journal, and an executive member of the World Blind Union.

Through her work at NextSense Institute, Fran led groundbreaking research into issues relating to the education of children experiencing blindness, low vision and deafblindness, and coordinated and lectured postgraduate courses in sensory disability.

Fran was invested as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2018 for distinguished service to people who are blind or have low vision, particularly in the area of special education, and policy development and practice on inclusiveness and standards.

And she was instrumental in the development of UEB Online, a world-first free online collection of braille training programs for educators and families that was recognised at the United Nations.

In this video, we hear from Fran about what changes she's seen in her lifetime for people who are blind or have low vision, why braille is as relevant as ever before, what more needs to be done, and some of the proudest moments in her career.