22nd World Scout Jamboree GeoCoin

I had the coins minted on the occasion of the 22nd World Scout Jamboree and geocached / released them at the Jamboree site in Sweden itself.  My mission for these coins is that they embark on a journey of friendship and discovery around the world -- touching the lives of scouts everywhere -- and then be brought to the 24rd World Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve in West Virginia United, States of America (July 22 to August 2, 2019), and returned to me there.  I will  provide my contact information as we near the jamboree date.  Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to have this coin returned to me!

The purpose of a World Scout Jamboree is to encourage meetings between those from different cultures, religions, and countries and come to realize that even total strangers can become friends.  A Jamboree is a mini United Nations. 

More than 40,000 Scouts from more than 150 countries attended the 22nd World Scout Jamboree held on the fields of Rinkaby, not far from the town of Kristianstad, in the province of Skåne, in the south of Sweden.  Rinkaby was also the site of past Swedish national Jamborees, including 2001 which hosted 26,500 Scouts and the successful 2007 'Jiingiijamborii'.  The Jamboree site is a green grassy field, with old stone walls and groves of trees.  

On the Face of the Coin:

The 22nd World Scout Jamboree’s theme focuses on the essence of Scouting, reducing it to its simplest form, and the BSA’s contingent emblem was designed to reflect this simplicity.  Central to the design is the geometric USA lettering.  Each of the letters is composed of circles and squares, providing graphic simplicity.  Moreover, the letters can be rotated 180 degrees and still read USA.  This speaks to the timeless message that Scouting in America can be seen forwards, backwards, upside-down, and right-side up, and no matter how you look at it our core values are soundly anchored and unchanged by the changing world about us.  To compliment the graphic, a simple BSA fleur-delis logo adds graphic interest and the Baseball Script Font resonate with American pride.  The color scheme for the design was inspired straight from the American flag; red, white, and blue.  The use of the darker royal blue, however, merges with the jamboree’s use of the darker navy blue in its own logo.  Altogether the design creates a unique American emblem suitable for the 2011 World Scout Jamboree!

On the Obverse Side of the Coin:

The emblem of the 22nd World Scout Jamboree Sweden 2011 consists of the World Scout emblem, with 10 idea clouds or bubbles above and to the left.   The ten idea bubbles represent key elements of the jamboree in Sweden.  Here is a brief explanation of what each bubble stands for:
-- Tents.  Camping in the outdoors is the very essence of scouting, learning to appreciate and respect the fragile world in which we live and committing ourselves to protecting its splendor and beauty are key to the jamboree experience.
-- The campfire.  The campfire is at the core of our soul as scouts.  It is where we come together when the day’s work is done to socialize or simply commune with one another in a spirit of kinsmanship and friendship.
-- Trees.  It is said that you can’t take the “out” out of scouting and it is in the outdoor setting, the jamborees help us  develop a deeper appreciation for our fragile environment and our relationship with it.  Also, the Jamboree site itself had small stands of trees everywhere where Scouts did activities or simply went to rest from the heat of the day.
-- Stars.  There were big events at the main stage as well as smaller ones on the sub camp stages where scouts went and rose to become a star and shone brightly for others to see.  But the star also represents the evening sky which might be filled with the excitement of fireworks or simply a place to stare at during a moment of quiet repose.
-- The dove is the universal symbol of peace.  The need to promote peace in our world is perhaps the single most important message to take away from the World Scout Jamboree.  Beyond that simple message of peace, the dove is a reminder of a scouts relationship to nature and our fragile ‘island’ home and of the need to protect and preserve it for generations to come.
-- The boat symbolizes  participation in water activities.  Just east of Rinkaby and south of Kristianstad is Hammarsjön Lake, a popular Swedish recreational area.  Scouts attending the Jamboree experienced water sports and activities during the Camp in Camp offsite program.
-- The elk is a Swedish icon and emblematic of Swedish life and culture.  Sweden is less than half as large as the Canadian province of British Columbia, but ranks fifth in the world in terms of its elk population.  Excavations in Alby, Sweden, adjacent to the Stora Alvaret, have yielded elk antler remains dating back to 6,000 BC!
-- Music is an iconic symbol of any Jamboree and it is found everywhere, from official events in the main arena, to sub-camp gatherings, to the coming together of new friends around a campfire and guitar; there is always music to share and enjoy.  Check out the lyrics to “Changing the world” by D. Lemma and P. Klang.  It is the official song of the 22nd World Scout Jamboree!
-- The candle represents the quiet times at the jamboree; moments to reflect with brother and sister scouts from around the world as we explored one another’s culture and spirituality.  The candle also lights the way to new understanding, one of tolerance, mutual respect, and solidarity.
-- When it was designed, the smallest symbol was to be a unicycle (organizers reasoned that there are normally a lot of bicycles around at a large jamboree, but they couldn’t fit a two wheeled bicycle into the pictogram bubble).  Of course, like all the pictograms, this one is open to individual interpretation.  What do you think it represents?