South African social rights activist, anti apartheid hero and Nobel Peace Prize (1984) laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been a great supporter of Scouting throughout his life. On the 26th January he received representatives of World Scouting and the World Scout Foundation to be informed about the Messengers of Peace Initiative.
During what can be described as an inspiring meeting and one full of laughter, the Archbishop was briefed in full detail about World Scouting's Flagship initiative and was stunned by what had been achieved in 2 years time.
As an avid Scout, the Archbishop was very excited to learn about Messengers of Peace and recognised its immense potential for the over 40 million Scouts all around the world. He was impressed by the multiplying effect on the youth of the world who have been (and will be) touched by this Initiative.
After sharing some amazing stories from his time in Scouting he was more then delighted when he received the Messengers of Peace scarf - which he did not take off for the entire day!
Author of several books, 82 year old Desmond Tutu has also received several other awards, notably the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism (1986), the Pacem in Terris Award (1987), the Sydney Peace Prize (1999), the Gandhi Peace Prize (2007) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009).
