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. With each newsletter, we will provide an explanation of what each bubble stands for. Here are the first two:
-- 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 jamboree helps us develop a deeper appreciation for our fragile environment and our relationship with it. Also, the Jamboree site itself has small stands of trees everywhere where Scouts do activities or simply go to rest from the heat of the day.
-- Stars. There will big events at the main stage as well as smaller ones on the sub camp stages where you can rise and become a star and shine 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 our relationship to nature and our fragile ‘island’ home and of the need to protect and preserve it for generations to come.
-- The boat symbolizes your participation in water activities. Just east of Rinkaby and south of Kristianstad is Hammarsjön Lake, a popular Swedish recreational area. Scouts attending the Jamboree may experience 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 antlers remains dating back to 6,000 BC!
-- Music is an iconic symbol of the Jamboree and you’ll find it everywhere you go, 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 you explore 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, this 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?