Minister of Culture Neletha Butterfield headed up Bermuda's 11-person delegation to the fifth annual African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference in Tanzania last month.

The African Diaspora Heritage Trail (ADHT) is a tourism initiative aimed at developing heritage destinations that convey the stories of the peoples of Africa and the diaspora through their own artistic expressions, written and oral histories.

It was the brainchild of Bermuda's former Minister of Tourism David Allen, and under the leadership of Premier Ewart Brown, the ADHT Bermuda Trail has been officially designated as a UNESCO Slave Route Project.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Tourism said: "There was a rich exchange of culture and information among the youth delegates, two of whom were from Bermuda. This provided the basis for ensuring that the project continues into the next generation.

"Tours of two Tanzanian towns, one a centre for the slave trade from east Africa, gave deeper meaning to that horrible blot on world history, the trans-Atlantic slave trade in African peoples."

The spokeswoman added that it had been beneficial because several new ADHT sites have been established in Tanzania, linking Africa to Bermuda through cultural tourism and had generated interest in other African counties as well as the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean.

"African Diaspora Heritage Trail has generated recognition for Bermuda as the world leader and founder of the ADHT cultural tourism initiative," she said.

"The fifth annual ADHT Conference in Tanzania was successful for the ADHT Bermuda Foundation given the fact that Bermuda was at the forefront of discussions to build international relations with the many business sectors of the countries of the Diaspora, governments, and affiliate organisations.

"The vision is that this project will bridge gaps and foster economic empowerment through the deep-rooted history that binds us together."

The 2010 conference will be held in Bermuda.