Milan 1957

For those who know Deaf history, in 1880,  Milan was the site of the infamous international conference of deaf educators, the "Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf."  It was during this conference that a declaration was made against using sign language in schools.

For some, it may be like a twist to have 8th International Silent Games be hosted in Milan, almost 90 years later.  The mission of the Games was to promote unity among the world-wide Deaf by having social, culture and language inclusion of the Deaf community.   This mission was totally in opposition of the educators from the 1880 conference.  They believed that the deaf should be integrated into the hearing community.  

It was also in Milan that the 8th Silent Games had a jump of 162 more athlete participants from 9 more countries than the previous Games in 1953.  That record stood for the next 8 years.