Bermuda’s commitment to the African Diaspora Heritage Trial (ADHT) was highlighted during the fourth annual African Conference on Peace Through Tourism.

Senator Wayne Caines gave a keynote address at the event in Kampala, Uganda, on behalf of Premier Ewart Brown, who he said was unable to attend in person due to “urgent affairs of the country”. He told the conference, which was attended by tourism officials from across Africa, how proud the Island is to have started the ADHT.

The pan-African initiative, which was the brainchild of the late Tourism Minister David Allen, aims to educate visitors about African culture and history wherever examples are found. Sen. Caines said he hoped the trail would bring both economic benefits to the communities on the trail and a revival of the African identity and experience in Bermuda.

“My Premier would want you to know that our Government will do all it can to facilitate the engagement of the diaspora in Africa’s development. We consider it our duty, and the ADHT is one small but significant vehicle through which we can realise that duty.

“However, unlike others, we do not see Africa as a charity case, but as a captivating and enchanting continent inhabited by diverse and proud people,” he said. Sen. Caines went on to highlight how the benefits of such a collaboration could help the “overdeveloped societies of the West” banish the alienation felt by “a corps of alienated youth, many of whom are children of Mother Africa” through reconnecting them with their history.

Sen. Caines also told the delegates of Bermuda’s efforts to reverse a 20-year decline in tourism through encouraging further hotel development. Touching on the proposed regeneration of the derelict former Club Med site for St. George’s, he stressed the importance of partnership in such initiatives.

He revealed that negotiations with the proposed developer of a new five-star resort, Bazarian International, have focused on the provision of technical and financial assistance for the upgrade of the “inadequate” and “antique” sewerage system for St. George’s.

The announcement that the Premier would not be attending the conference earlier this month prompted election speculation in some quarters.