The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), in partnership with the Institute for a Resource-Based Economy (creators of the Toronto Tool Library), Studio Y, ShareTO, Social Innovation Generation and a collective of sharing organizations in Toronto, invites the city’s sharers and uninitiated to #ShareFestTO, a night of celebrating and building connections in the flourishing sharing economy.

Torontonians are sharing their homes (Airbnb), their stuff (Swapsity), their workspaces (Centre for Social Innovation), and their cars (AutoShare). #ShareFestTO is an opportunity to meet these Toronto organizations and over 20 others — such as Not far from the Tree, The Toronto Tool Library, Toronto Public Library — that make sharing an easy part of our lifestyle.

“Consumers are rooting for the rise of the sharing economy: it saves people money, minimizes consumption, reduces waste and brings communities together,” said Adil Dhalla, co-organizer of #ShareFestTO and Director of Culture at CSI. “With #SharefestTO, we want to bring together the movement’s pioneers, its participants, and those interested in learning about it so they can become involved in this important market transformation."

The sharing economy is a powerful movement that is changing how and what we consume by providing expanded access to products, services and skills beyond the things we, as individuals, own. The principal is that we don't need to own stuff; we merely need the utility the stuff we own provides. For example, most of us don’t need to own a power drill all year long, we only need access to one a few times a year. The sharing economy provides access without outright ownership, giving people the means to do more with less.