Toronto stands in a unique position at the beginning of the second decade of the new millennium: a city with great human, social and creative resources that has the potential to realize a flourishing future. We have within our borders the wisdom of the world, sparked by a meeting of the greatest ingathering of Diasporic peoples the world has yet seen with a settled culture that is progressive, open, and increasingly innovative.

Diasporic Genius has articulated four central goals and developed a three-part program, with the conviction that these can be central in transforming our city.

The four goals are:

to act as a catalyst for new forms of widespread civic engagement and interconnection

to use this engagement paired with creative expression as levers to uncork social & cultural innovation and social change

to free up the unique, underlying cultural DNA carried by every citizen of Toronto for use in “creating our future from the wisdom of the world”

to foster/renew the experience of creative agency in individuals and communities, preparing the way for a new possibility of weaving together the people of the city and its cultural, academic, social, and business institutions.

The Diasporic Genius plan encompasses three interrelated programs, coming under the headings of Performance, Education and Community. For maximum resonance, these three spheres are conceived, developed and organized in concert with each other.