A photo of a Girl Scout calmly confronting a far-right protester during a rally in the Czech Republic has been shared thousands of times as a powerful symbol of peaceful defiance in the face of hate.

The image, of teenager Lucie talking to a demonstrator during a May Day rally, was shared by the World Organisation of the Scout Movement.

The picture became a viral hit with many applauding the youngster’s courage and composure.

In a Facebook post the group said: “People from all walks of life, and #Scouts among them, came to the streets during an extreme right march yesterday, to express their support for values of diversity, peace and understanding. Creating a better world!”

The march is understood to have been organised by the DSSS Workers’ Party – a far-right party in the Czech Republic.

Anička Čámská, a member of the Czech scouting group, who was at the rally, said: “There was some kind of far-right march, so a bunch of people wen there as well to protest in a peaceful way – they were dancing and painting.

“Later more people came to protest against neo-Nazis with drums and so on. The message was ‘we are tired of your hate and pessimism’.”

The powerful image echoes the photo of a young woman smiling at a member of the English Defence League at a rally in Birmingham.

Photographer Vladimír Čičmanec, who captured the image during Monday’s protests, said the “neo-Nazi was clearly angry with her, but she stood her ground”.

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"I was thinking about the Saffiyah Khan photo when I started shooting, the situation looked similar, and the bubbles were just a sweet coincidence,” he told IBTimes.

“I thought 'this will be a nice photo', but in the sense 'when my friends see it on Facebook, they'll probably like it'.