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Editor's Inrroductlmt ne of the most popular attractions during the week of The Deaf Way Conference and Festival was a large tent set up on the Gallaudet University campus, called the "International Deaf Club." Each evening , after the intense intellectual discussions of the Conference were finished, this tent became the setting of social interaction, entertainment , and generally festive activity by Deaf Way participants. Here they could make new friends in a socially agreeable place, often extending the scope of their friendships to include Deaf people from other lands, many or most of whom used different sign languages. Participants felt encouraged during these get-togethers to search for mutually comprehensible, visually accessible communication, in spite of the diversity of geographic and linguistic origins. For Deaf partiCipants especially, the mutual bond of a visual rather than auditory orientation to life pulled people together; they identified with each other's experiences as Deaf people from predominately hearing societies. One tangible outcome of this week-long association was that ever since The Deaf Way, sign language instructors at Gallaudet have taught the country signs used by deaf people from those countries (signs they learned during The Deaf Way), rather than the signs (sometimes unflattering) previously used to represent those countries in American Sign Language. In a sense, each of the papers in this section describes one or another manifestation of the urge of Deaf people (and sometimes of the hearing friends of Deaf people) to get together, to share experiences, to participate in an activity (such as a particular sport or game), and to acquire information important for survival and success-all in a highly supportive environment (like the one in the International Deaf Club) without the communication barriers usually presented by the hearing world. In spite of this important common thread, however, a careful reading of these papers reveals that the clubs and associations formed by Deaf people in different countries inevitably take different forms, and that these forms represent not only the differing wishes of various Deaf communities , but also the social philosophies and attitudes of various nations with regard to minority populations in general, and to Deaf people in particular. Yerker Andersson's (United States) paper on the Stockholm Deaf Club, for example, describes a highly sophisticated association of Deaf groups whose functions are largely supported by the Swedish government, a government that is remarkably responsive to the special needs of minority populations. Andersson's account of a typical year's activities headquartered in the Stockholm Deaf Club's "Deaf House" includes a rich array of athletic, social, cultural, and educational events. Particularly revealing is his report that the club teaches Swedish Sign Language to hundreds of individuals annually and that club-sponsored courses in American Sign Language and English are also popular. The portrayal by Stephanie Hall (United States) of a deaf club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania contrasts with Andersson's Stockholm club in that instead of appearing to be an integral part of a social establishment that embraces and supports Deaf people, it Editor's Introduction is characterized as a kind of refuge or oasis, where Deaf people can escape the misunderstandings and frustrations usually presented by the hearing world. Hall portrays this club as a safe haven where Deaf people can meet potential spouses, have fun, get advice, and learn strategies from Deaf mentors for finding jobs. The next two papers suggest that in most countries considerable financial resourcefulness is needed for Deaf clubs to become established and have an impact. Adolf Van Den Heuvel (Belgium) describes the slow evolution of the Madosa club in Antwerp, Belgium and how money was collected, bit by bit, to buy a house for club activities. He emphasizes the importance of Deaf people's staying united, in spite of differences of age and interests, in order to gain the collective power to accomplish needed goals. Similarly, the paper by Madan Vasishta and Meher Sethna (India) portrays Deaf clubs in India as organizations struggling with meager resources to bring Deaf people together to meet needs that would otherwise be overlooked. This paper suggests that cultural values in India are more often than not at cross-purposes with Deaf people's wishes. Miren Segovia's (Basque region, Spain) paper describes the work of the Deaf Union of Guipuzcoa, a Basque association supported by "various public organizations" as well as membership fees. Although this association serves many of the social, recreational , cultural, and educational needs typical of other Deaf clubs, it is unusual in that...

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