Nearly three dozen hemispheric heads of government will gather in Port of Spain Trinidad this weekend to tackle some of the world's most daunting problems. On Wednesday, local academics, activists and educators assembled to get a head start.

Various conferences took place in this capital city to coincide with the Fifth Summit of the Americas. Members of civil society held a forum aboard the Carnival Victory cruise ship -- anchored to accommodate summit overflows -- to discuss how nongovernmental groups can help their countries make the regional gathering more than just two days of good food and photo ops. ''Words whisper, actions shout,'' said Curla Bruce, a lecturer from Trinidad. ``I am hearing a lot of whispering.''