"Inclusion 23": sustainability program for Special Olympics 2023

The Special Olympics World Games 2023, where people with intellectual and multiple disabilities compete in Berlin, should help the German capital achieve long-term inclusive structures.

"Our clear goal is to make Berlin an inclusive city".

Under the motto "Inclusion 23," the Berlin Senate launched a so-called sustainability program on Wednesday (Jan. 19, 2022). The program aims to ensure lasting participation for people with disabilities even after the world's largest inclusive sporting event. "Our clear goal is to make Berlin an inclusive city," Berlin's Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger said at a Wednesday press conference on the event, which will take place next year from June 17 to 25. More than 7,000 athletes will compete in 28 disciplines, and 20,000 volunteers will help run the event. "With the sustainability program, we are taking an important step toward more inclusion in our city," Spranger said.

State Sports Association, state museums and Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association involved

Several projects, in which the state of Berlin is investing a total of 2.7 million euros, are intended to bring inclusive structures into everyday life. State Sports Association (LSB) President Thomas Härtel cited the example of the "Inclusion in Sport" project, thanks to which an inclusion manager was hired to act "as the central, connecting and networking point for inclusion in organized sports in Berlin." Berlin's state-owned museums are accompanying the World Games with the "Ready Steady Go!" project, which organizes a cultural program on Berlin's Museum Island as a visible sign of inclusion in the cultural sector. The Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB) wants to contribute to an inclusive society with a new, easy-to-use and understandable app including a digital help function.

National Games 2022 in Berlin

Already this year, the inclusivity projects can come into action. From June 19 to 24, the Special Olympics National Games, with about 4500 competing athletes, will be held in Berlin.