Participation in community events and activities

Social connection

Participation in community events and activities

Our engagement in events, meetings or activities including: sports, arts and culture, clubs, churches or spiritual places, and other social activities in the community or at work has an impact on our levels of wellbeing.

Level of participation in events and activities

This measure shows how many Canberrans take part in group events, such as:

Keeping socially active and engaging in various activities is good for our wellbeing.

Canberrans are actively participating in community events. The University of Canberra 2024 Living Well in the ACT Region survey found that 79.0% of Canberrans attended activities such as festivals, arts, sporting or cultural events at least once in 2024.

While we may not be back at pre-pandemic levels, growing participation rates since the COVID-19 shutdowns suggest an ongoing recovery in our community participation levels.

Data for this indicator are sourced from the University of Canberra Living well in the ACT Region survey. Detailed survey data, survey user guide and published reports from the survey can be accessed at https://www.regionalwellbeing.org.au/living-well-in-the-act-region/.

Line graphs of percentage of respondents who reported high, moderate and low levels of participation in community events and activities in the ACT, between 2019 and 2024.

In 2024:

  • 38.3% reported low participation in events compared to 45.0% in 2023
  • 47.0% reported moderate participation in events compared to 42.8% in 2023
  • 14.8% reported high participation in events compared to 12.2% in 2023.

The Living Well in the ACT Region survey, conducted by the University of Canberra, aims to measure, track and understand the wellbeing and resilience of adult residents living in the Australian Capital Territory region of Australia. It examines factors known to affect wellbeing and resilience at the individual, household, community and regional level.

When generating data for the ACT, statistical weighting is used to address differences between the sample of people who respond to the survey, and the characteristics of the ACT adult population.

Data are produced from this survey for different groups of people in the ACT. The ‘overall response’ category represents responses at the ACT population level. Where reliable estimates can be produced, data are also presented for Canberrans by: gender, age, cultural background, gender identity and sexuality, carer role and experience of disability. Not all differences over time or between groups are statistically significant: information on confidence intervals for the data presented here is available in data tables that can be accessed at https://www.regionalwellbeing.org.au/living-well-in-the-act-region/.

Care is needed when interpreting the differences in findings between groups as the descriptive statistics published here show where there are differences in wellbeing, but not what has caused those differences in wellbeing.

Further information about the survey can be found at Living Well in the ACT Region or by contacting regionalwellbeing@canberra.edu.au.