TORONTO, ONTARIO – Today, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s (GTAA) President and CEO, Deborah Flint, along with Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors and Giants of Africa Founder, Masai Ujiri, unveiled the Humanity art installation at Toronto Pearson.
The piece represents a welcome addition to the airport and its focus on human connection and diversity is fitting for its new home given that Pearson connects diverse people and cultures from all over the world. During her speech, Ms. Flint underscored how important this piece—and what it represents—is for Pearson:
“I see a lot of commonalities between the good work that Masai has done with the Humanity Movement and the work that we do here at Pearson every day to help connect the world,” she said. “Chief among those commonalities is a focus on people. Pearson may be one of Canada’s biggest and most vital pieces of infrastructure, but we’re far more than glass and metal—we’re a distinctly human space. This piece reminds us of what’s important, and that is, of course, people—and how we can and should work together to help each other along the way, whatever journey we may be on.”
Launched in 2020, the inspiration behind the Humanity Movement came to Mr. Ujiri from Nelson Mandela’s legacy of fighting for equality and its continued importance in society today. Representing peace, togetherness, youth and diversity, the art installation uses light to create a ripple effect with its words, symbolizing the need to spread more humanity. The 8-foot-high steel structure, lit up from the inside, is made up of 35 words that reflect what humanity means to Ujiri. “I wanted to put a symbol up to remind people that we should see each other as equals, always lead with respect and treat each other with kindness—no bias, prejudice and injustice,” said Mr. Ujiri of the one-of-a-kind piece.
The Humanity piece is on display in Terminal 1, Departures Level, Aisle 1 until May 31, 2022. The piece has previously been displayed in two locations in downtown Toronto at Maple Leaf Square and in front of Union Station.
For pictures from today’s event, please email media.relations@gtaa.com.
About the Greater Toronto Airports Authority
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority is the operator of Toronto – Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Canada’s largest airport and a vital connector of people, businesses and goods. Toronto Pearson has been named “Best Large Airport in North America serving more than 40 million passengers” for four years in a row by Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade representative of the world’s airports. In recognition of its Healthy Airport program, ACI also awarded Toronto Pearson the “Best hygiene measures in North America” award, and Toronto Pearson was the first Canadian airport to receive ACI’s global health accreditation for its response to COVID-19.
For more information, please visit Toronto Pearson on Twitter (English and French), Facebook or Instagram.
About Masai Ujiri, Vice-Chairman and President, Toronto Raptors and Founder, Giants of Africa
Masai Ujiri is the first and only African-born President of a professional sports franchise in North America – the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors. In 2019, Masai led the Raptors to their first-ever NBA Championship and the first NBA Championship won by a team outside the United States in NBA history. Born and raised in Nigeria, with a deep passion for basketball, Masai began to pursue a career as an executive when his professional basketball career came to an early end. In 2003, Masai founded the Giants of Africa organization, based on the idea of using basketball as a means of educating and enriching the lives of African youth—both boys and girls. In 2020, Masai launched thatshumanity.org, inspired by his experiences and the lessons learned from leaders like Nelson Mandela.
Contact:
GTAA Media Office | media.relations@gtaa.com | (416) 776-3709