WHAT WE DO
INVICTUS GERMANY focuses on the people who ensure the freedom and security of us all through their service to their country. If they have suffered permanent disabilities in body and soul from wounds, injuries or illnesses during their time of service and have found their new place in the community, they deserve our respect and appreciation. Because with their way back into a new life, they also open up perspectives for other people and give courage and hope.
These soldiers and the members of the blue-light organizations, as well as their families, deserve all of our support for their rehabilitation. Family members and friends - the Family & Friends - make an important contribution to a new beginning and face great challenges themselves. Reason enough to also recognize them for their achievements and include them.
Our goal is for the spirit of "A HOME FOR RESPECT." to spread from Düsseldorf to all of Germany. Our citizens should gain new perspectives on the social role and importance of the people in the armed forces and the blue-light organizations. For the competitors and their Family & Friends, the Games will be a visible sign of appreciation and recognition.
The vision of INVICTUS GAMES DÜSSELDORF 2023 is to outlast the games themselves. We want to stimulate a rethinking and a dialogue in society and to spread and develop the unique idea of the international INVICTUS GAMES. The games also provide a new or different view of the people in the Bundeswehr and the blue-light organizations. On people who take personal and health risks in the mission and in their daily service in uniform. At the INVICTUS GAMES, they become visible and their stories tangible. We want to convey what duty and service on the road means and what people in uniform are prepared to do to stand up for our free democratic basic order, to save and to ensure security. Vicinity and personal encounters will carry the spirit of respect and solidarity throughout the city.
The INVICTUS GAMES show in a unique way how sport can have a positive effect on the body and soul – and what power sport unfolds as part of a holistic rehabilitation concept. This is also the approach of the Bundeswehr Medical Service: Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, medical service-oriented rehabilitation was developed as a contribution to the operational readiness of the armed forces. Whether on deployment, in the service or in the private sphere: regardless of the triggering cause and diagnosis, interdisciplinary, individually tailored treatment strategies are developed in a holistic approach. The common goal is the preservation of skills and experience oriented to military needs, together with the duty of care of the service provider. In this context, there is close cooperation with the civilian health sector, in particular with the clinics of the Employer's Liability Insurance Association.
INVICTUS GERMANY is carried by D.LIVE, a company of the state capital Düsseldorf. D.LIVE was jointly responsible with the Bundeswehr for the realisation of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 and has now founded thr Team Respect e.V. to continue the legacy idea, which will carry out activities under the name Invictus Germany. The highlight will be the sports festival, which will feature a selection of German participants from the Invictus family as well as teams from selected nations to celebrate a weekend of encounters with their "Friends and Family."
WHAT WE STAND FOR
With the announcement that the INVICTUS GAMES 2023 will take place in Düsseldorf on January 15, 2020, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, made Germany part of the INVICTUS GAMES family. Since then, there has been a moving wave of attention for all the people who serve their country and who have paid for their commitmnent to our freedom and security with their health. INVICTUS GERMANY is the continuation of the legacy of the INVICTUS GAMES idea for Germany: We want to increase the appreciation of service in the armed forces and blue-light organizations in politics and civil society and promote discourse with servicemen and women. We support raising awareness of the social and human rights approach to tackling disability. We stand up for the right to professional rehabilitation. We emphasize the right to participate in sports and the relevance of sports in rehabilitation. We support the concerns and needs of WIS (wounded, injured or sick) and their Family & Friends in the spirit of the INVICTUS GAMES and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The dates for 2024 have been set for July 26–28.
Sub-goals
- Know-how transfer
- Academic exchange
- Maintain and strengthen the INVICTUS GAMES network
Measures
- Participation in and organisation of scientific congresses
- Promotion of joint scientific studies
- Best practice/exchange on the implementation of the INVICTUS GAMES legacy
Sub-goals
- Encounters between soldiers and civil society
- Media attention
- Political discussion with relevant actors
Measures
- Organisation of meetings as part of diverse events that are inclusive and accessible to the public
- Media coverage, public broadcasting, social media
- Initiating legislative change and political advocacy
Sub-goals
- Reducing reservations between people with and without disabilities
- Imparting knowledge about disability, barriers, rehabilitation and the importance of sport
- Raising awareness of the social added value of inclusion
- Inclusive exchange with wounded, injured or sick people (WIS) and their families as ambassadors for recognising and overcoming barriers and as sources of encouragement
Measures
- Exchange with professional associations
- Press and public relations work
- Inclusive competitions at the INVICTUS GERMANY sports festival