Author: Sharon Avery, President & CEO, Toronto Foundation
For the past few weeks, Toronto has felt different.
From welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors to filling restaurants, living rooms and public squares with jerseys from every corner of the world, this city has been bursting with energy. And pride. I love to see it.
Last fall, we asked Torontonians how they were feeling about their city. The results were almost evenly split. Nearly half believed Toronto's best days were behind it. Nearly as many believed they were still ahead.
Watching the city over the past few weeks, I've been thinking about that.
Research tells us that host cities experience a surge in civic pride after major international sporting events. While the economic impacts are endlessly debated, perhaps that's not the most interesting legacy. The real opportunity lies in what we do with a moment like this.
The challenge, of course, is that civic pride is often fleeting.
But what if it became something more? What if the excitement we feel today encouraged more of us to volunteer, join a neighbourhood group, attend a local event or simply get to know the people around us? What if it reminded us that cities aren't built by institutions alone, but by the ways we choose to show up for one another?
A city doesn't become stronger because it hosts the World Cup. It becomes stronger if it knows what to do with the feeling the World Cup creates.
At Toronto Foundation, that's the opportunity we see.
Over the coming months, you'll see us share more stories of the people and organizations quietly strengthening the fabric of this city every day. Through a new partnership with Centennial College, journalism students have been documenting acts of social solidarity unfolding in neighbourhoods across Toronto. You'll also see us working alongside partners across the city to explore how moments of shared pride can become lasting connection, participation and belonging. It's a conversation we'll continue this fall as we release new Toronto's Vital Signs research exploring what helps communities—and ultimately our city—grow stronger together.
The World Cup has reminded us what Toronto can feel like when we share something together. Let's see what happens if we don't let that feeling fade.
Let's see what happens when more of us spend less time looking back—and more time building the city we know is possible.