The Scouts and Guides in Norway looked for a project that could include all of their young people at local level. They worked for a long time on the idea of a peace 'tree', covered with the wishes for the future of all Norwegian Scouts and Guides . They ended up making a huge patchwork, where more than 600 Norwegian patrols, from the youngest Beavers to the older age group Rover Units contributed one decorated patch each. This means that 5,000 scouts reveal their innermost heartfelt wishes for the future in an artistic way through a huge 24 square metre tapestry.

For practical reasons, it is divided into 6 tapestries, each of 2x2 metres. When mounted, it is 2x12 metres. The tapestry will be put on display both at the 21st Jamboree in the United Kingdom, and afterwards for the general public in Norway.

The tapestry is only one part of the Gift for Peace project. The Scouts and Guides also believe that awareness, knowledge and skills are major contributors to peace. Therefore all patrols and other units were asked to make research on any other country that they believed to be quite different from Norway.

The youngest were challenged to invite someone from abroad to a Scout/Guide meeting to share information on their country, the middle section were also asked to make a presentation of a comparison between a foreign country and Norway. The oldest scouts, the Rovers, were asked to find this information by communicating with Scouts and Guides in the foreign country (and the internet was not allowed, they only used letters, packages or travel). This Gifts for Peace project was presented as one of five tasks in a new jubilee activity badge programme.

For more information please see the Norwegian website (only in Norwegian!) : http://dons.nsf.scout.no/portal/page?_pageid=53,86112&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL