Halifax To Host Diaspora Trail Meeting
The African Diaspora Heritage Trail Foundation – founded in Bermuda in 2002 — will hold its 2011 conference in Nova Scotia.
The conference became an annual event in 2006, and has been held in Bermuda four times, as well as the Bahamas in 2007 and Tanzania in 2009. The Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs was a sponsor of the 2010 event in Bermuda.
“Nova Scotia played an integral role in the 2010 conference, and we congratulate the province on being selected as the host site for 2011,” said Michelle Burrows, executive director of the ADHT Bermuda Foundation.“We look forward to attending the conference in Halifax and experiencing the unique cultural assets and heritage sites in Nova Scotia.”
Dates for the Nova Scotia event will be announced later.
Bermuda recently hosted the sixth International African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference titled “Evolution of The Trail: History, Culture, Global Communities and Economic Empowerment”, which spotlighted the island’s role in launching the worldwide cultural tourism initiative a decade ago.
The October event commemorated the work of former Bermuda Tourism Minister, the late David Allen, who created the programme which has now been emulated by countries around the world with significant populations who can trace their lineage back to Africa.
The Bermuda conference, chaired by Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith, drew specialists, cultural tourism professionals and participants from around the world — as well as Bermudian historians including Dr. Clarence Maxwell, Dr. Quito Swan and Dr. Edward Harris.
The African Diaspora Heritage Trail brings together countries affected by migration to and from Africa, beginning with the enslavement period. Cultural organisations such as the Smithsonian Institution, UNESCO, the Africa Travel Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation also participate.
Bermuda’s own black heritage trail has been called a shining example of what other African Diaspora participants would like to see developed and maintained in their countries.
The island’s pioneering efforts in the conservation of black culture and heritage sites and the celebration of the history, customs, and experiences of slaves and their descendants has been officially designated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as part of the Slave Route Project.
Among the key sites on Bermuda’s African Diaspora Heritage Trail are the Bermuda Maritime Museum — which hosts a permanent exhibiton on the transatlantic slave trade — and the Bermudian Heritage Museum in St. George’s which celebrates the many accomplishments of black Bermudians as well as such historic figures as Sally Bassett and Mary Prince.
Two important churches on the trail are Cobbs Hill Methodist Church, the oldest existing Methodist building in Bermuda that was built by slaves by moonlight, and St. Peter’s Church in St. George’s, the oldest Anglican church in the Western Hemisphere where a historic slave graveyard is still intact.
Slaves were first brought to Bermuda in 1616. Most were blacks from Africa and the Caribbean, although American Indians were also transported here throughout the 17th century. In 1834 slavery was abolished in Bermuda although it took more than 120 years before blacks gained their full civil and political rights on the island.
All sites on the self-guided tour are marked by bronze plaques, handcrafted by Bermudian sculptor Carlos Dowling.
“We are thrilled to be hosting this event,” said Percy Paris, Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs about the upcoming 2011 conference. “Not only will it bring scores of international visitors to Nova Scotia, but it opens the door for further partnerships throughout the African Diaspora.
“It’s a huge step toward our goal of marketing Nova Scotia as a destination for visitors interested in culture and heritage of African descent.”
Mr. Paris, who is also Nova Scotia’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, attended the 2010 Bermuda conference and delivered a presentation on the province’s historic and cultural links to the African Diaspora.
[Videos courtesy of the Bermuda Yellow Pages]
