Park Ward challenge success

Over 400 residents and 14 local organisations came together to take part in the Park Ward Around the World Challenge, a community-led physical activity initiative designed to encourage people to move more while strengthening community connections.

Created through a series of co-design sessions involving local organisations and community representatives, the challenge was built around a simple but ambitious goal: work together to complete a virtual journey around the world by recording physical activity over eight weeks.

Participants were encouraged to be active in any way that suited them, logging either their steps or time spent being active each week. These totals were then converted into distance travelled, allowing the community to track its collective progress around the globe.

An Incredible Community Achievement

By the end of the challenge, participants had achieved some remarkable results:

• 41,595,625 steps recorded

• 20,798 miles travelled virtually

• 53 countries passed through

• Over 400 people took part

• 14 local organisations contributed

• One community united behind a shared goal

Throughout the challenge, participants learned about countries along the route while taking part in activities, challenges and events that helped maintain motivation and engagement.

Stronger Partnerships

Feedback from participating organisations, including St Augustine's Centre, NHP Family Hubs and King Cross Library, highlighted the positive impact the challenge had on both staff and the wider community.

All organisations agreed that the challenge provided valuable opportunities to promote physical activity and reported feeling more motivated than usual to encourage people to be active. Most also said they were more likely to promote physical activity during the challenge and felt it helped them work more closely with other local organisations than they normally would.

The challenge's collaborative approach was particularly well received.

Organisations found the project easy to understand, engaging and motivating, while the virtual world map helped participants visualise the shared goal and their collective progress. The co-production model also reinforced the value of partnership working and demonstrated how organisations can achieve more when they work together.

Encouragingly, all organisations expressed an interest in taking part in a similar challenge in the future.

Positive Impact on Participants

Participant feedback showed that the challenge successfully increased motivation and helped create a stronger culture of physical activity within the community.

Following the challenge:

• 100% of participants agreed that physical activity is encouraged within their neighbourhood, compared to 29% before the challenge.

• 90% said they felt more motivated than normal to be physically active during the challenge.

• 64% reported being more active than usual during the eight weeks.

Participants particularly enjoyed monitoring their progress each week, achieving personal goals, setting new personal bests and taking part in friendly competition. Many highlighted the sense of accomplishment that came from contributing towards a collective community target while becoming more active themselves.

Celebrating Success

The challenge concluded with a celebration event at Unique Community Hub, where participants came together to recognise their achievements and the community effort that made the challenge such a success.

The event featured medals, games and refreshments, providing an opportunity for participants, volunteers and organisations to celebrate what had been achieved together.

The success of the Park Ward Around the World Challenge demonstrated the power of community collaboration. By combining physical activity with a shared goal, local organisations and residents created a fun, inclusive and motivating experience that helped people move more, build new connections and strengthen community spirit across Park Ward.