Walktober
Walktober was conceived by Kinect Australia in 2006 as an umbrella campaign to increase individual and broader community awareness of the importance and benefits of walking. It was also created to generate and promote a diversity of relevant programs and activities occurring in the month of October and provide a mechanism for fostering greater collaboration and momentum for walking development.
Walktober 2008 sought to build on the success of the initial two campaigns and was able to increase its reach and impact considerably. Some overall key achievements included:
- 540 branded events (increase from 450 in 2007)
- Participation of an estimated 90,000 people (increase from 35,000 in 2006)
- 3,000 brand applications (increased from 500 in 2007)
- 144 media stories
- Links to 95 other websites
- 4 strategic partners: Department of Transport, VicHealth, Victorian Seniors Festival, Parks Victoria
- Additional events in Brisbane (50), NSW, SA and WA
- Successful piloting of a Workplace Challenge event
- Successful introduction of a Senior's Walk in the Park program and Seniors Festival launch walk
- Introduction of a Community Challenge event
Of particular significance in 2008 was the piloting of the 'Walktober WalkSmart Workplace Challenge' in the last week of October. The Challenge was introduced to create a stronger focus in the campaign on active travel through walking and was designed to highlight and link with the Department of Transport's TravelSmart and WalkSmart programs to generate further profile and participation.
The major components of Walktober 2009 include a Community Challenge funded by VicHealth, Walktober Walk-to-School Day, the Victorian Seniors Festival 'Go for your life' Walks Program and expansion of the Senior's Walk in the Park program and expansion of the Workplace Challenge event across Victorian workplaces, and the addition of a Diabetes Australia- Victoria Walk and Talk initiative. Diabetes Australia- Victoria is the preferred charity aligned with Walktober.
Further information on Walktober 2009 is available on the dedicated Walktober site: www.walktober.com.au
To register your interest in participating in Walktober 2009, please contact Robyn Alexander at Kinect Australia on 8320-0102 or via email: ralexander@kinectaustralia.org.au
