All Australians have a link with their nation’s capital, but we’re sometimes guilty of taking it for granted. 2013 presents an ideal opportunity to get closer to Canberra, both the city itself and its national and symbolic roles.

In 2013, we celebrate 100 years since Lady Denman, wife of then Governor-General Lord Denman, stood upon the newly laid Foundation Stones and announced that the name of the new Australian capital would be Canberra.

The Centenary of Canberra is an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate this momentous occasion in our country’s history and to explore the many facets–local, regional, national and international–of our nation’s capital. This city tells the story of our country's freedom, spirit, achievements and aspirations.

The year-long program will include new and exciting projects, but equally it will showcase the very best of what’s already happening in Canberra each year–the people, the places, the events that contribute to Canberra’s role in our national story.

The ambition behind this program is to create lasting legacies that will benefit generations of Australians to come and lead Canberra confidently into the journey of the next hundred years.

The Centenary offers a great opportunity to explore Canberra through its natural seasonal calendar–revealing a lively and active 21st century city ideally fulfilling its important role as the nation’s capital.

Since inception, Canberra has been the site of some of the best thinking in the country. It continues to be an incubator of great ideas and scientific achievements and the custodian, on behalf of all Australians, of the nation’s most significant cultural assets.

The Centenary of Canberra celebrates the history and heritage of one of the most enduring planned cities in the world and at the same time highlights its lively present and bright future.