Hollywood actor Danny Glover is probably the most recognisable star at the second African Diaspora Heritage Trail conference which begins today.

He is due to be joined by a Nobel Prize Laureate, a former African nation president and two UNESCO representatives.

During the next five days, it is expected 150 overseas guests will discuss and explore the shared history and bonds that link people of African descent who were dispersed around the world through slavery and the forced movement of millions of people between Africa, Europe and the Americas.

The group will discuss heritage and cultural issues relating to tourism, education and economic development for Diaspora communities.

Bermuda has played a central role in creating the African Diaspora Heritage Trail, having held its inaugural conference in 2002 as well as organising a planning event last year that led to this month?s second conference, which is being held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel.

The conference is now set to become an annual event, with Bermuda again slated to host in 2007 before it moves on, possibly to Turks and Caicos or the Bahamas, in 2008.

Speaking on the eve of the event, Deputy Premier Ewart Brown said: ?I would like to see a culturally strong experience where participants are exposed to a rich mosaic of information about the Diaspora.?

During their stay on the Island, delegates will be introduced to Bermuda?s own Diaspora trail and invited to tour the Uptown Market Festival in Court Street. ?That is all part of livening up that area and showing the visitors a new attraction,? said Dr. Brown.

In April this year, the Tourism Minister visited Africa to attend the African Presidential Roundtable in Johannesburg and used that occasion to spread the word about the Diaspora conference.

Dr. Brown believes at least ten African delegates have flown to the Island for the event as a direct result, including former Ghana president Jerry Rawlings.

Recognition of Bermuda?s place in the slave trade by UNESCO earlier this year has helped bolster Bermuda?s credentials as part of the widespread dispersion of descendants from Africa.

Amongst those lined up to speak over the course of the event are Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Wole Soyinka, Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Minister Nana Akuffo Addo, former UNESCO board member Rex Nettleford and Katerina Stenou, UNESCO director of cultural policies.

Over the course of the five-day event, there will be a ?Taste of the Diaspora? gala featuring cuisine prepared by international chefs, as well as performances from African Diaspora artists and a trade expo featuring exhibits of various countries, venues, museums and a chance to see what is being done in other countries of the Diaspora to develop tourism and support fellow Diaspora communities.

This year?s conference is comparable in size to the 2002 event, but includes visitors from a far greater representation of countries.

While the conference will work on many levels, one outcome Dr. Brown would be happy to see is for Bermuda to attract more visitors interested in Diaspora history.

With that in mind, he said: ?I?m hoping that most of the delegates will want to come back and see Bermuda.?