Around the world, globalized cities are grappling with issues that have been on Toronto's agenda for decades: in the absence of more traditional bonds of a singular culture, language and religion, how do cities create a sense of belonging, a climate of trust, and norms of reciprocity. Handling these issues well can lead to peaceful co-existence, a zest for creativity and an instinct for delight. Handling these issues inadequately can result in varying degrees of crime, poverty and even extremes of riots and bombings.
It is not surprising then, that city-builders world-wide are galvanizing around what has emerged as the greatest challenge of the 21st Century: the quest to build and sustain liveable cities - cities in which all citizens have a sense of belonging, a sense that they, their ancestors and their children are honoured and valued participants in the complex, evolving story of a place.
Toronto aspires to be at the forefront of this global movement. Humanitas will be Toronto's conduit to - and the world's repository for - this burgeoning global quest. In order to do this effectively, Humanitas must explore and share the Toronto story with the world. For Humanitas to be successful in telling Toronto's stories, it must embrace and involve the people who are the subject of those stories. These are the people who have lived to see the changes the city has experienced over time, who hold the memories and experiences of relatives and friends that came before them and whose lives will shape the Toronto of tomorrow.
Ultimately, Humanitas aspires to be part of a cultural cluster on Toronto's waterfront as a legacy of Toronto's 2015 Expo Bid, but we're not waiting until then to get started! Humanitas' 'coming out party' will be a signature event of the City's Live With Culture campaign and kicks off with a festival this May. The Humanitas Festival is unique in that its programming is geared to incite creative, inclusive, active citizenship throughout the entire city. Inspired by Humanitas themes of Gathering Place, Global Village and City Soul, citizens can explore our past and dream our future. Through urban affairs forums, the arts, debate, dialogue story exchanges and more, the festival will animate the ways in which Toronto's creativity is deeply rooted in its history and diversity.
"Humanitas is likely the most ambitious cultural project ever to be undertaken in Toronto. It is unquestionably the most exciting and far-reaching because it extends itself beyond the realm of culture and understands culture as the living habitat of the global citizen. It is a forum in which the global citizen accesses new ways of embracing the contemporary, always in reference to the experiment which is Toronto. It is where Toronto offers itself to the global community as an experiment in civility, as a unique historical icon, as a model for other cities in the area of sustainability and livability. For all its manifold aims, Humanitas is the hope of coherence in the urban discussion."
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, City of Toronto Poet Laureate
Curator, Humanitas
