Hamilton, Bermuda — Hundreds of participants are expected at a 5-day 'African Diaspora Heritage Trail' (ADHT) conference opening today in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Author and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, keynotes the opening plenary.
The conference is part of an initiative to bring together representatives from Africa and descendants of Africa to stimulate heritage-trail tourist destinations, programs and products.
The slave trade, said Bermuda Premier W. Alexander Scott, in an opening statement, "had a tremendous impact on populating most of the islands in the Caribbean, and South America…we recognize ADHT as a way of documenting and sharing our history and culture with visitors and residents alike."
The conference "will facilitate long term relationships between Bermuda and the Caribbean, African nations, North America and South America," according to a conference statement.
The island's Tourist Minister, Ewart Brown, added that "the Diaspora spans continents and oceans and joins a potentially disparate people into a cohesive unit." His sentiment echoes other recent developments.
Earlier this month, tour operators, government ministers and international agencies met in Geneva, Switzerland to launch TourismAfrica 2006, an effort to aggressively expand African tourism destinations and to bring more coordination and cooperation among the continent's tourist providers. Heritage travel was prominent in that meeting as well.
The African Union has now established a "sixth region", permitting North American African Diaspora participation in the Pan-African organization. The United States government has even assigned a representative to this new region.
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Ghana is spearheading a "Joseph Project" aimed at encouraging tourism and even resettlement in Ghana by descendants of Africa. The name is taken from the Biblical Old Testament story of Joseph, his sale into slavery, and - years later – his finally being reunited with his brothers.
"Burning Issues Forums" at the Bermuda meeting aim to tackle such complex issues such as "the role of heritage tourism as a catalyst for sustainable development in underdeveloped areas."
At this week's Bermuda meeting there will be a Trade Expo featuring exhibits, and an international marketing and networking forum. In workshops and other forms of presentation, scholars and cultural activists, as well as representatives of the travel industry, government and international agencies like UNESCO, will discuss a range of subjects surrounding the development of the collaborative effort that heritage trail tourism requires.
Other speakers include the noted historian from the University of Ibaden in Nigeria, Dr. J.F. Ade Ajayi, and Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and NEPAD, Nana Akuffo Addo.
This is the second ADHT gathering. The first, held in 2002, also in Bermuda, attracted 300 government leaders and officials, educators, industry and travel professionals from Africa, the Caribbean and the USA.
