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- Written by: Meres J. Weche
On June 23, Dove Men+Care set up a full broadcast desk inside CF Toronto Eaton Centre, recruiting Canadian TSN broadcasters Jay Onrait and Marissa Roberto to call everyday moments with World Cup energy. The pop-up, called The Commentators, gave shoppers a chance to win tickets to a Round of 32 match. Engagement lead Laura McMurray explains why ordinary fans sit at the heart of the campaign.
Toronto has spent the better part of June living inside a global tournament, and Tuesday afternoon at CF Toronto Eaton Centre made that reality impossible to miss. Shoppers moving through the mall's MAC Court stumbled onto a fully built broadcast desk, complete with monitors, microphones and two recognizable faces from Canadian sports television calling the action as though it belonged on SportsCentre.
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- Written by: Meres J. Weche
Culture Shox Media joined journalists from Toronto's ethnic media community for a candid meet-and-greet with the City of Toronto's senior communications leadership, including Chief Communications Officer Julia Oosterman and Director of Media Relations Russell Baker. The conversation covered multicultural storytelling, FIFA World Cup media inclusion, financial support for underrepresented outlets and the power of authentic community engagement. It was a meaningful step toward a more equitable media landscape in one of the world's most diverse cities.
Toronto holds a remarkable distinction. With over half of its residents born outside Canada and more than 200 languages spoken across the city, it stands among the most genuinely multicultural urban centres anywhere in the world. And yet, for decades, the storytelling infrastructure meant to serve that population, the press access, the advertising budgets, the institutional partnerships, has remained concentrated in the hands of a relatively narrow slice of mainstream media.
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- Written by: Michelle Ponto
Art Dubai's 20th anniversary edition was a showcase of global art, but it was also a vivid demonstration of something less visible: The critical role media and storytelling play in cultural ecosystems. In this firsthand account, Blue Gecko Communications founder Michelle Ponto reflects on how the right partnerships, built on cultural fluency and editorial craft, are what give landmark events their lasting resonance and real-world impact.
Art Dubai has spent two decades helping position the emirate as a serious player in the global cultural conversation.
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- Written by: Meres J. Weche
A new address, a new chapter, and a community that gets what we're building.
There's a particular feeling you get when you land somewhere and immediately think, yes, this is exactly where we're supposed to be. That's how it felt when Culture Shox Media moved into the Centre for Social Innovation on Spadina Avenue in Toronto.
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- Written by: Meres J. Weche
FIFA Fan Festival™ Toronto is arriving this summer at Fort York National Historic Site and The Bentway, and the story it tells goes far beyond football. Across 22 free days of live matches, music, culture, and food, the city's deep-rooted diversity takes centre stage for a global audience. For communities that have always shaped this city's character, this moment is long overdue for recognition.
There is a particular kind of pride that comes from watching the world finally arrive at a place you have always known to be extraordinary. This summer, Toronto steps onto a global stage that its communities, artists, cooks, drummers, and storytellers have been quietly building for decades. The FIFA Fan Festival™ Toronto, running from June 11 to July 19 at Fort York National Historic Site and The Bentway, is the largest public celebration this city has ever organized around a single event. And while the football is the draw, the deeper story belongs to the people who make Toronto what it actually is.