Bermuda will be hosting an international conference next year to commemorate the deaths of thousands of slaves who died on their journey from Africa to the US hundreds of years ago.

Up to 10,000 visitors of African descent are expected to arrive next June for the Middle Passage Monument Project -- a three-day celebration which will climax in the burial of a monument off the coast of the Island.

The event is being organised by the Homeward Bound Foundation, a non-profit organisation created for the purposes of encouraging black people around the world in taking an active interest in each other. HBF spokesman Wayne James said: "If the Atlantic Ocean's middle passage were to dry up today we would witness a trail of human bones stretching from Africa to the Americas.

"The time has come for us to lay to rest the souls of our ancestors who perished crossing the middle passage while celebrating their survival through us, their descendants.

"On July 3, 1999, during a ceremony at sea, we will lower a monument honouring our ancestors onto the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

"The symbolic water burial provides an opportunity for black people to collectively begin healing from the atrocities of slavery. For 500 years we have carried the burden of slavery on our backs. As the new millennium approaches, it is important for us to use slavery as a means of strengthening ourselves.'' The Foundation will be organising business ventures, cultural and educational exchange programmes and tourism between African descent. And organisers commissioning the sculpture are still accepting designs from artists. And, starting tonight, there will a series of street festivals every Friday for the rest of the month to promote the event.

The festivals will take place on Hamilton's Court Street from 6 p.m.

For further information contact local organiser Corin Smith on 299-2379.