The SV Motor Mickten (”sport club Motor Mickten”) is a traditional sport club with a focus on grassroots sport located in the city of Dresden. They are engaged in taping into sport’s potential to foster integration, inclusion and social cohesion. Several years ago, they became aware of the need of inclusive sport opportunities and started their continuous journey of development and learning in that area. They follow an inclusive approach, meaning that people with and without disabilities train together. Examples are inclusive table-tennis classes, classes in “seated volleyball”, wheelchair gymnastics and inclusive kids movement classes.

They managed to canvass funding from multiple sources, mainly from the local administration and some NGO foundations. In the beginning, this served to finance singular offers and projects. Eventually, the funding was sufficient to create a job position within the club solely in charge of the field of disabled sport. By now, the newly won members from that area secure this position via membership fees.

Meanwhile, the city of Dresden – as all public administration – had started to undergo efforts to introduce measures in order to meet requirements in reference to the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that entered into force in 2009. The field of sport was one area to focus on and by doing so, city representatives discovered the advances and success the SV Motor Mickten had already made. This way, the SV Motor Mickten became a major partner during the Special Olympics World Games of 2023. Dresden was the host town for the Puerto Rican delegation and a great celebration was organised. The network that got together to organise this festival kept working together from there on and they still realize the Fest der Begegnung (“Festival of Dialogue”) every year. Additionally, SV Motor Mickten realized the project MOVE (Motor Mickten vereint/ “Motor Mickten unites”). MOVE is a website showcasing all kinds of disabled sport opportunities across the city of Dresden – not only the courses by the SV Motor Mickten. The website therefore functions as a platform for disabled sport, enhancing its visibility and accessibility. Besides this, it supports clubs in their efforts to broaden their spectrum of sports, reaching new target groups and becoming more inclusive.