VIENNA (NNA) – The Peace Light from Bethlehem is on its way to all different parts of the world once again this year.

Originally organised by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ÖRF) to help children in need in Austria and abroad, it now brings a message of peace to many different countries.

Each year an Austrian child travels to Bethlehem to collect the light, from where it is flown back to Vienna for distribution at a Service of Dedication attended by scout and guide delegations from across Europe. The scouts and guides then collect the Light with it's message of peace and take it back to their own countries and communities, passing on the Light on to others along the way. In addition, the Light is flown to America and Canada for distrubtion across those countries, peacelight.org.uk says on its website.

To achieve peaceful coexistence, “tolerance, openness and the readiness to go towards one another” was necessary, the German scout and guide associations say in a declaration. Everyone was united by the wish for peace – even if it appeared very fragile at the moment.

New encounters and friendships

Hardly any other organisation was networked so well throughout the world as the scouts and guides. Friendships extended far beyond national or continental boundaries. The scout and guide network thus made it possible to take the Peace Light to many different countries in the world, Aktion Friedenslicht says on its website. The new encounters and international friendships which arose through the distribution of the peace light were particularly valuable.

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Item: 181223-02EN Date: 23 December 2018

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