Creators of Inclusion

Is inclusion an illusion? There is still a gap between talking about inclusion and really living it. At one of the world‘s largest sports events, the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin, people with intellectual disabilities were at the center of media coverage.

Hundreds of journalists from all over the world reported live on site.But they forgot one thing: To actively include the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities.

Toyota, one of the main sponsors, took advantage of this and gave people with in- tellectual disabilities a voice, a camera and a platform.

A truly inclusive social media team that brought together creators with and without intellectual disabilities. For 10 days, the inclusive team held editorial conferences, conducted interviews, produced social media content, broadcasted it live and engaged with the community.Toyota even gave over its TikTok and Instagram channels as a space for their unique take and personal insights of the games.

The results were impressive: over 65 million impressions, over 46 million video views, more than 285,000 engagements, a 16.4% increase in ad recall, and a 6.7% increase in perception as a sponsor. But what really mattered was: the creators of inclusion won the hearts of millions with their content, proving that in- clusion is not just an illusion. Sadly the mainstream media has failed to follow our lead. So we assembled the crea- tors of inclusion again for the Special Olympics National Games 2024 in Thüringen/ Germany. And we’ll keep going. Until true inclusion becomes the norm.