World Youth Day 2008 a First Look at the Survey Findings (Pilgrim Nationalities Combined) a Briefing Paper for Sydney World Youth Day Administration

Home , Transportation in Sydney, World Youth Day 2000, World Youth Day 2008

World Youth Day 2008 A First Look at the Survey Findings (pilgrim nationalities combined) A briefing paper for Sydney World Youth Day Administration

Pilgrims’ Progress 2008 Research Project on the World Youth Day in Sydney Research Team: Michael Mason & Ruth Webber (ACU), Andrew Singleton (Monash)

APPENDIX I

Comments on the organisation of World Youth Day, Difficulties experienced by pilgrims, and Suggestions for the organisers of World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid

Introduction

The post-World Youth Day survey of November 2008 invited write-in responses to two questions which will be of special interest to WYD organisers:

1) “Write here any feedback you would like to give about the organisation of World Youth Day 2008 -- e.g. the program of events, the registration process, communication of information, travel arrangements, food and accommodation, facilities etc. Your comments will be passed on to the appropriate departments. This is also the place to offer any suggestions you would like to make on these topics for WYD in Madrid in 2011.”

2) “If there was something else that significantly spoiled the experience for you, write it here.” (The responses to this question begin on p. 154 , preceded by a copy of the table recording responses to the ‘fixed-choice’ part of the question.)

Because of their value to organisers, these written comments are reproduced here in their entirety. Although the main text of the Briefing Paper deals only with Catholic respondents up to age 35, these restrictions have been removed in this section, which contains all 1453 comments received.

Female 48 Canada Youth In Europe - our travel company - did an EXCELLENT job in all aspects of our travels. The washrooms were fantastic! The food distribution at events was very well organized. The volunteers were numerous, everywhere, & always friendly & helpful. The on-line registration was o.k., had a few glitches, but they were always fixed at our request. On-line information was fantastic & helpful. Homestay families were wonderful for ME, but a couple of our youth had families that didn't feed them, didn't give them rides anywhere, and basically left them on their own. There were SO MANY WONDERFUL EVENTS to choose from...wish we could've seen them all! Madrid, Spain would be wise to follow in your footsteps concerning food distribution, washrooms, volunteer organization & transit system process. Well done, Australia!!!

Female 30 Canada You were so organized. We liked your attempt with dealing with the toliet situation, but alas washrooms for 400, 000 people in one area, only through the grace of God will that ever be solved. Other than that, your volunteer staff was awesome. Your transit system rocked, both in Melbourne and Sydney.

Female 16 Philippines You were organised and strict! well-done! I hope Madrid would do a great job as you did or even better. but you did well enough. EXCEPT for the repetition of food everyday. Our group didn't even want to eat anymore because we keep eating the same food for the past days. This led us to buying. Our money that we used to pay for food was wasted because the team really gave us food that wasn't supposed to be eaten in 5 consecutive days breakfast-lunch- dinner. I understand that it is hard to think of the right food to serve but you could have at least thought of food that would change every day but still fit in the budget. Everybody would like to taste quite a few NEW food from the host country once in a while.

Female 22 Ireland You need to improve the quality of the food/meals, the standard was v.low at WYD and the queues of people were exceptionally long.

Female 40 Australia You have done a fantastic job in organising this event. Thanks God for the weather, the security and spirit of Australian Church.

Female 16 Malaysia You guys did an awesome job planning everything that happened during wyd.

Male 28 Australia You don't need me to remind you of the accreditation nightmare! Obviously that is the aspect to improve on for 2011. However, Grafton St seemed to work really well in the other departments and most importantly, all the people working, on the other side of the desks, over the phones, were so friendly and helpful at the most stressful of times. It certainly helped to ease the stres of waiting in line!

Female 18 Canada You did a beautiful job, and I appreciate the time and effort that you put into making this event. With out you it would never have been as good as it was. God Bless

Female 53 United States you all did a great job an organisation this week for all of usthere ,,, it was the great feeling that we had a place to be and stay.

Male 22 United Kingdom Some volunteers told us off for having a drink (alcoholic) at a concert - I mean come on - we'd done all the holy stuff all day we just wanted a bit of a relax and listen to some music - we were gonna get drunk - In germany they had beer on tap you could buy it...

Female 27 India WYD Australia had a considerably lesser turnout compared to WYD Rome 2000 and Toronto 2002. Travel expenses played a major factor for many would-be pilgrims who wanted to attend but could not. Travelling to pilgrimage sites was sometimes a little confusing esp. for

visiting the tomb of Australia's patron saint Mary Mckillop. International volunteers were very helpful esp. in emergencies like finding lost members of group. Suggestion: Emergency Mobile phones at Volunteer tents for WYD Madrid. Although we learnt a lot about the Australian culture, there was also the commercialisation aspect that sometimes jarred the overall sentiment. Could WYD souvenirs be designed more tastefully next time? I like the scarfs, hats and coats which were practical for the weather but other items like spoons , coins and jewellery were in bad taste. I don't think Pope Benedict would approve of having his face on these trivial items. Since I've been fortunate enough to attend three WYD's in the past, I was not put off by minor factors like the cold weather, long queues, or sometimes monotony of diet. It’s the process leading up to AND the actual journey that counts.

Male 60 Australia wyd08 sydney are extremely slow in giving refunds, still not received as at 23/11/08. Access to Barangaroo for the opening mass was terrible, people could not go where they were allocated, the screens were sited looking into the sun which was a big distraction.Sydney train transport was fantastic. our accomodation was excellent except for the showers which were not up to third world standard, they did not match up with australian standards in any way shape or form. the website was an abomination, crashing several times, retracing steps backwards such that three or four days of input was lost and had to be keyed in again, definitely need to employ professionals here for Madrid. when i accompanied a girl who was handicapped in walking we had to walk about 3 kilometres going in to randwick and about 2.5 kilometres going out of randwick. In the randwick precinct we had to walk 800 unnecessary metres because some dill thought it would be a good idea to make some people walk in past their gate and then turn back via a circuitous route to their alloted position, instead of taking the most direct route. Qld got the rough end of the pineapple in time allocation for their gathering, squashed in as an after thought making a rushed trip to Barangaroo necessary.

Female 18 New Zealand WYD08: Food at major gatherings (e.g. after Opening Mass - needed cutlery to eat food with - especially since part of meal was some type of sauce. It's very difficult trying to eat it with no cutlery!) Communication of information was excellent! Wonderful job the volunteers did! WYD11: More access for those with disabilities or somehow ensure distances between various WYD facilities are not so great!

What i wanted, and many of my friends wanted, was a chance to get to know, and have fun with the other countries, but it was fairly segregated to an extent. it would of been nice, if we had a practical game among all the countries, such as a world cup or something to get more into the spirit of friendship. (Male 17 Australia)

Please set the merchandise closer to equilibrium price. We ain't all rich you know. (Male 17 Philippines)

Please next event try to send our invitation letter to us, because of the invitation letter we could not make it to the event in Sydney (Male 36 Ghana).

WYD08 was a very well organised event, it had a bit of everything, although i do that next time i'll have a better opportunity to focus more on the spiritual side of it rather than the activities (Male 18 Malta)

Female 18 Australia WYD08 was a spectacular event which I thought was overall well planned out with a few flaws such as the barangaroo toilets which were later moved to randwick. They did not have the sanitary bins for female pads and tampons which found many females throwing them on the floor. Also these toilets ran out of water to flush. Apart from these minor factors I enjoyed

all the experiences and events at WYD08 and am so thankful to those who organised such a life altering experience.

Female 30 United States WYD was very organized!!

Female 18 Australia WYD was the best thing I had ever attended. I made so many new friends, and seeing the Pope was an overwhelming experience. Although I haven't learnt much about my faith in general, I believe that WYD was created by God to bring us all together to celebrate, have fun and rejoice in our faith. Loved it. Bring on Madrid! :D

Female 17 Australia WYD was really well organised. With the amount of crowd, etc, it was a job well done. My only complaint would be the weekend. The food wasn't very nice, especially compared to the weeks food. Also, the toilets proved to be a major problem at the weekend.

Male 23 Australia WYD was one the events i have attended and the organistional of WYD was 99% to my personal opinion.

Female 19 New Zealand WYD was great!! well organised and the only thing I wished was better evening meals and more meal locations

Female 43 New Zealand WYD was a great experience - the organising team are to be congratulated on an amazing Catholic event.

Female 33 Australia WYD Sydney was so much better organized than Cologne. Everything flowed really well (enough food, toilets had water, public transport didnt break down, not much waiting in queues). Also, I really liked the adoration tents that were everywhere, they made a big difference.

Female 20 New Zealand WYd Sydney was great, but possible improvements could be made. Where the pilgrims are accomodated, the catechesis sessions could be more inclusive and personal. Also friendly sports could be included so that youth could meet each other and share their love for God. There should also be a special day set aside for each pilgrim to discover what their talents are and how to use them for God's purpose. Many youth come to World youth day feeling depressed and worthless, because they compare themselves with others who seem to have so much to offer God. I know I did. These unique people all have a special way of fulfilling God's wishes. They just need a nudge. Also, if the food was more natural, fresh and not so full of preservatives, that would be great. Apart from that, I want to thank all the volunteers for their tireless efforts from the bottom of my heart. Hoping to be in Madrid soon. Gracias por todos. Dios te bendiga.

Male 32 Singapore WYD Sydney - Thank you for the very wonderful experience you have given us, God bless my schedule, my redources and my well being as I start to prepare for Madrid =)

Female 60 Australia WYD organisers did very well; unfortunately Days in the Diocese Melbourne organisers were very disappointing re travel and luggage delivery.

Female 18 Australia WYD merchandise / commercialism was too excessive in a sense that the stuff were too expensive and not affordable... the food were somehow unhealthy :( imagine eating 'microwaved' food everyday :( i know it is hard to feed hundreds of thousands of pilgrims but not too much microwaved or canned goods. although it is indeed part of 'pilgrim' experience... and i love the idea of having bbq once in a while throughout the wyd week. THE VOLUNTEER TEAM WAS GREAT! CHEERS TO THEM FOR A WORK WELL DONE!!!!! WYD SYD WONT BE A SUCCESS WITHOUT THEM. hope WYD2011 will have enough number of pilgrims to host the

next WYD. great hospitality from the accomodation/host schools... and the NSW gov't. did pretty well with organising the event and helding the event. :) Transportation was great... and well- thought.... WYD2011 WEBSITE AND THE WHOLE IDEA OF WYD MUST BE WELCOMING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT RELIGION OR CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION... and hoping that it wont use too much of CATHOLIC JARGONSSS that youth from different church/religion will be put-off or out of place cos of thinking 'WYD is A CATHOLIC EVENT' and maybe they'll think it'll be too intimidating... Want to see it more encouraging and inviting for EVERYONE to COME AND SEE, not just what WYD is really like but to get the point that OUR GOD , our ONE TRUE GOD, is FOR EVERYONE. :)

Male 16 Australia WYD itself was just awesome. Congratulations to everyone involved - it went perfectly! The small inconveniences that did occur were overlooked thanks to the Holy Spirit working through everyone. My only problems were during the lead up to WYD. Here in my parish of Toowoomba, we didn't get any info on the WYD Mass before hand at all. We would have liked to practice it, but didn't know it existed. Also, it was very difficult to get any information on WYD itself during the sign up process. There just seemed to be no actual information available. Other people managed to get it somehow. Maybe the website could be improved? Overall though - great job! I'm definitely going to Madrid!

Male 20 Indonesia WYD is very good program.. i want be able to go to spain if i have any chance. i hope i have a lot of money.hhehehe.. c u friends. love u.

Male 29 Australia WYD in Sydney was way too Anglocentric, it would have been very difficult for non English Speakers to follow what was going on.

Female 42 Germany WYD in Sydney was the best organized WYD i have participated yet. (concerning 'crowd management', spirituality (adoration), organization; and a detail: sanitary facilities at Randwick) Concerning itinerary a proposal: we only received the addresses of the accomodations and itinerary during WYD in Sydney some days before, as we were already in Australia (we had no regular internet access there). That was definitely too late: some people wanted to join us in Sydney, and we were not able to pass the relevant information to them, because we self were not informed in time. I suggest: Passing this information to the group leaders 3 weeks before would be optimal. - this group-leader information concerning itinerary, accommodation of own group, of groups linked together etc. should be given to ALL registered group leaders of the same group by e-Mail. (we were more than 150 participants and thus had more group leaders) - the groups linked together should be accommodated together (due to for 1 day different arrival/departure dates, we had to split up our group to different group numbers. Although the groups were 'linked' together, we were split up to 3 different accommodations / catechesis sites far away from each other.

Female 21 Australia WYD in Sydney was organised brilliantly! In the pack we got, it had a timetable of every even organised all day, every day, throughout Sydney. That was great because, if something wasn't organised within the group, my sister and I were able to choose what we wanted to do and what we were interested in. Also, the public transport was great, it wasnt busy or crowded at all, and we I felt safe at all times... even wondering the streets at 12am! Overall, it was a great experience, and there is nothing that I regret at all, Can't wait for Madrid!

Female 36 United States WYD Australia was so organized and well put together! The transportation was GREAT! The whole entire city was so incredibly helpful and organized! It made the whole trip so much easier! THANK YOU!

Female 29 Australia WYD 2011 should be primarily about Evangelising Youth who reside in Madrid and then about Youth from the rest of the World. Every Catholic senior/university student, by their baptismal rite should be given a pass to go. In Australia we got this wrong, with many Youth missing out, even those who go to church on a weekly basis. We let our Young people down by focusing on our overseas visitors (which was amazing) but what about our kids who missed out. Please do not make the same mistake in Madrid. Evangelise your own kids first before you take on the rest of the world.

Male 22 United States WYD 2008 was very well organized.

Female 18 Philippines WYD 2008 was very organised. I had no trouble whatsoever with any of the events and arrangements.

Male 59 United States WYD 2008 excelled in handling the crowds. People were spread out more both in accommodations and in WYD activities and events. This was excellent. The stations of the cross staged in different parts of the city and put on megatrons was extremely moving and effective - a concept to be imitated by future WYD's. The registration process for WYD 2005 in Germany was wonderful. The registration process for WYD 2008 in Sydney was a nightmare and cost me many, many hours of time. Please be sure to have the team for 2011, Madrid, Spain, conslut with Germany and set up a good registration program. Also, insurance coverage needs to include the Days in the Diocese as well as the week of WYD activities. The concept of providing fruit and nutrition bars was an excellent way to keep pilgrims well nourished throughout the daily activities.

Female 16 Australia WYD 08 was organised wonderfully- I had prepared myself for horrible staying conditions- and I hope future WYDs really live up to those standards. They improve our experience so much more. We need to have a bit more food in the food bags, like the ones we were given at Randwick. This is because if one needs to buy takeaway food on top of it, as I did, it is not nourishing food. However, the organisation at Randwick was exceptional. The toilets were pretty good, as was the space we were given for settling down. The food given in the bags, although not enough, was very high quality!

Female 19 Canada WYD 08 was extremely well organised. I would like to reccomend that the Military Diocese program be continued, as it was a fascinating experience to be with so many young military members like myself and it creates bonds deeper than those of an ordinary exchange.

Female 24 Australia Would prefer if there were more variety in the meals- not everyone likes spicy soup.

Female 47 Australia Would love to volunteer in Madrid.

Female 28 Malaysia Would like to thank volunteers, organisers, and all who made WYD to a success

Male 17 Australia Would like to see it made a little easier to registrate in the future. We had Nigerian pilgrims who were meant to come to WYD08 and stay with families from our parish, but something with their visa's prevented them from coming. It was a sad event and it makes you think if something like that might happen to you at future overseas WYD's.

Female 46 Guam Would it be possible to provide a guide on how to encourage large groups (30 - 40) of young adults to be respectful of group leaders and to consider their safety as well as the safety of their group?

Female 32 Australia Would be awesome if Registration could be sent out prior to the event. This was very stressful for me with two young children who needed feeding/ sleeps to queue up for hours and then no one was able to find our registration. My group leader spent a whole day searching for hers. Last minute changes to itineraries was extremely upsetting.

Female 16 United States World Youth Day was the most AMAZING expecrience. Thank you everyone for everything. The only thing that I didn't exactly LOVE were the Catechesis every morning- they didn't give us a chance to get involved. Some of the talks were dull and many people lost interest early on. I realize that there are SO many people and it IS a pilgrimage, but the food wasn't the greatest. Most of the people in my group ended up only eating rolls. Sometimes we had to go to a small store to get food to buy. (But thank you for the Tim Tams!!! We love them and still find ways to get ahold of them- ebay!)

Male 22 United States World youth day is advertised as an event for people of the ages 18-35. While there, it almost seemed like the majority were under 18!! And there were chaperones everywhere!! This ruined several events. People under 18 should NOT be at world youth day, they are children. Events for children and adults are very different, but due to the intermingling, I felt like I was being treated like a child at many times. The older chaperones were also excessive. People over 18 years old are adults, and do not need chaperones.They should not be allowed.

Male 52 Brunei Darussalam World Youth Day in Sydney was great!

Male 40 Australia World Youth Day in Sydney should never have been held in the winter...October would have been a much better month. It was bitterly cold at the vigil and was uncomfortable for my pregnant wife and therefore reduced the impact of the experience. The weather at the Sunday mass was good though.... The registration system Eugeria? was terrible....information was lost a few times...some pages wouldn't appear and the system broke down a couple of times. I was very surprised that when I got to Sydney that the payments had been registered properly and the backpacks were ready....so that was a silvber lining. Food was fine...although roast duck and vegetable in a can from France...bit of a turnoff. Lucky to have food though...compared to other countries. I was pleased to be able to go to World Youth Day and felt it was a special experience...but not life changing as it was for my neice. I hope to go to Madrid.

Female 22 United States World Youth Day 2008 was wonderful and I will remember it forever! Thank you to everyone who helped to make it possible. Days in the Diocese was also great. I felt more a part of Australia and the Catholic community there as a result of it. God Bless!

Female 52 Australia woould like to see a central information place, eg at Darlig Harbour, with details of events available for the venue, could not get to hear who we wanted to hear - eg christopher west, or latin Mass

Male 60 Australia Wonderfully organized, a miracle to say the least!! from Bishop Fisher down and a great blessing for Australia.

Female 25 Australia Wonderful event. Please improve the sanitation in the toilets (i.e. have them cleaned more regularly throughout the day/night)

Female 25 Australia With such a monumental event, in terms of size, numbers of pilgrims and cultural and social importance - it was very well organised. However, the size of the crowds/pilgrims can be intimidating/uncomfortable - especially when concentrated in one location.

There was little comfort/advantage in being at Randwick in front of a television screen for the closing mass - especially in the middle of winter.

Female 36 Australia Wishing you all well as you prepare to organise the next WYD, Madrid is meant to be a gorgeous place to visit and experience, I'm sure it will be here in no time, and once again we will be counting down the months, weeks, and days.

Female 18 United States Will be needing better crowd control. Have people who live in the city actually know what is going on. Inform the public so they do not get confused.

Female 36 Malaysia Why do they put an age limit for youths attending WYD? The cut off age is 35 , I don't think there should be an age limit. If your heart is in the right place to praise God then those who want to join in for the pilgrimage can just join in. Why do they impose on the age limit. We feel so out of place. Because we are not considered as youths, neither married, so which group do we belong to? The hopeless and lost?

Male 21 Canada While slightly better than Cologne's WYD in terms of food service, it was still dreadful, especially that certain major centers in the festivities ran out of food quite often. Perhaps having designated food areas for groups of pilgrims can counter that problem for Madrid.

Female 60 Australia When tickets are paid for early it would have been less stressful to have them poted and not have to go looking for an address in a strange city as soon as we arrived in Sydney. Busses were not an option.

Female 32 United States When the time for the stations of the cross came in Australia, I was hoping that we were going to be taking over the streets of Australia. This is the time i really wanted to make the pilgrim walk behind the cross of Christ. Honestly, to be placed in one spot only was a little dissapointing to me, specially when many of the youth around my area were some what distracted, taling among themselves and trying to have fun. I had a hard time getting concentrated at the beginning. Yet, i had an infusion of the Holy Spirit when the actors came to my section to play out the station. I suggest that for Madrid, everybody should be walking behind the cross towards calvary for all of the stations (for it would have a more significant impact altogether, on the expectators, and the participating crowds). It would be like taking over the city to reclaim it for Christ. Of course, there should be monitors/ screens thoughout the path so that we can view in the big screens what is happening infront of us. I also hope they could make some kind of accomodations for people like me that could not afford to stay in hotels the whole time.

Male 29 Australia When is the Recieve the Power Website going to be updated. Also when a person has disability that may not be easily identified, eg arthritis, perhaps some identifying tag on the lanyard so that they may be allowed to exit at an earlier point. Other than it rocked.

Male 41 United States When I experienced a few difficulties with the online registration process I found the WYD planning team very responsive. Thank you for your hard work. You enabled many pilgrims to experience the presence of God in Sydney.

Female 51 Australia welldone organisation of WYD

Male 31 Spain Well, it is a not very important topic, but about the food, my advise would be to prepare different meals for each day. In Sydney the meals were very repetitive; we always ate the same. And I think that more places for delivering the food should be installed. In any case, I think that the organisation of WYD 2008 was very good.

Male 26 Australia well, i think they have done a geat job, putting it all together. so well done. there is always things that they can improved on but i think the main thing that they should concentrated on is to let the young become closer to god. i don't know how they can do it but i hope that peoepl coming back from Madrid can feel more closer to god so that the Church can have some more youth face ariund and take up more responsibility within the church.

Male 19 Australia Well the queues for things were naturally very long, but I think that considering the amount of people in attendance there wasn't much more that could be done and it could have been a lot worse, so that was alright.

Male 34 Canada Well organized WYD, outstanding work by all of the volunteers and organizers. Thank you to all that helped! I look forward to Madrid 2011! Madrid is a very beautiful city, as I was there in 1998.

Female 49 Australia Well organised. I think everyone did a fabulous job. It was a big task.

Female 43 Australia well organised. Hot food would've been excellent for colder weather.

Male 54 Australia well organised for the size of people moving around - well thought out

Female 24 New Zealand Well done. Thank you for a wonderful job.

Male 21 Australia Well Done, thankyou and God Bless You All

Male 28 Hong Kong Well Done!!

Male 48 South Africa Well done! and Thanks

Female 31 Swaziland Well done! A wonderful program with adequate variety. On the whole very well organised and thought out. Some suggestions / comments: Some of the residential places were quite far out of Sydney itself, I spent 3 - 4 hours on the train travelling to and from the main events. The city was kept clean despite the numbers of people. The loos at the vigil were fantastic, a real pleasure after the portaloos of Cologne. The meal packs had too many sweet things. Some more fruit would have been welcome. However the food on teh whole was much better than in Cologne. The internet registration process was difficult for me, i live in a developing country with only dial up internet access. It had too many graphics to load quickly, so as a result we had to spend HOURS literally each time we accessed our site. The email help address often took 2 - 3 weeks to get a reply to urgent queries. The Days in the Diocese in Melbourne with the OMIs was really excellent, well done to them! Their masses and liturgies were extremely youthful, more so than in Sydney - perhaps you could speak to their youth coordinator Fr Christian Fini OMI for some ideas for the main WYD masses and events. I thought the signage in Sydney was incredible, and the pilgrims were made to really feel at home. Thank you for a wonderful WYD experience!

Female 18 Canada Well done!

Female 16 Australia Well done to the organisers! A huge effort.

Female 25 Ireland Well done to everyone involved in the organisation of WYD08. Volunteers were most helpful, myself and the group that I was with had no issues at all. Everything was great. DIDs fantastic. Pilgrim food wasn't great but understandable when trying to cater for the crowds. Hopefully WYD11 will be as good as Sydney, it'll be tough competition but good luck to all involved

Male 26 Samoa Well done to all departments!!...... from Samoa...... faafetai and God bless

Female 18 Australia Well done on all the organisation of WYD! It was totally ace!

Male 20 Australia Well done everyone who helped. You had a massive, massive task but you did it well, and thanks be to God!

Female 29 New Zealand Well done and keep up the good work and GOD BLESS

Female 54 Australia Well Done- amazing organisation

Female 50 Australia Well done

Female 39 Australia well done

Male 16 Australia Well because im from sydney i didnt really need much travel or accomodation but all in all from what i experienced is that everything was very well set out because not many people were complaining

Male 44 Australia Website was a disgrace. Far too complex.

Female 34 Malaysia We were put up in schools with the minors at St Nicholas Myra Penrith, we were either deprived of hot showers due to limited shower facilities or given limited access to shower due to curfews or other security reasons. We only wanted a good shower after a long day out in the sun :-).

Female 52 Australia We were placed a long way out of Sydney and missed out on a number of things due to excess travel time. Beter catechesis for outer areas would have helped. 3hours of our day was spent in travelling on the train.

Female 40 Australia We were made to feel very welcome and they catered for our every need, thank you so much once again.

Male 30 Australia We took a bus from Melb to Syd. We arrived safely but our luggage arrived the next day. So all students and staff slept without sleeping bags, clothes toiletries etc. Big inconvenience!

Female 43 Australia We thing the organisation of WYD was mammoth and much congratulations should go to all those volunteers involved. Information was frequent but at times it felt like overload especially in the final weeks. We had trouble with our diocese Days in the Diocese, finding out our accomodation. We were disappointed when we thought our transport taking us to Sydney from Canberra did not take us straight to our accomodation - it was quite stressful late at night arriving at our school of accomodation and ending up at the wrong train station which could not get us to our accomodation. We had to pile into taxis with 13 in our group and we were Aussies from the country but found all that quite stressful. Found the booking of our registrations a bit of a problem. The receipts following payment on line were not updated quickly enough - which often left our group concerned it would not be fixed up in time before we left for Sydney. Advertising of online purchases for sleeping bags, bedding etc were obviously overwhelmed with orders - things didn't arrive in time for some people. Food was fine, plenty of it. Expected the queus, but met many lovely people while waiting. Didn't know that you needed six people in the group to obtain your food - that should have been better advertised. It would have

been nice if First time Pilgrim Aussies had been told to try to have some sort of gifts ready for other pilgrims which you could exchange pins or aussie memorabilia with. Accomodation was fine, just didn't like the lock out early till late in case you were unwell or tired and wanted to stay back to rest. Madrid - need english interpreters please!! We will try to learn spanish before we go though.

Female 44 Australia we ony had problems with lost baggage - but this only addded to the 'pilgrim' aspect of wyd - we just shared our clothes.

Female 15 Australia We often had to walk long distances to get food, the crowd control could be better organised to reduce cues.

Male 50 United States We had to wait on several occasions for buses to take us to our events. After arriving in Sydney, our group had to wait for over 3 hours for the bus to take us to our destination. Once the bus did get there, it was one that did not have enough storage area for our backpacks. It was extremely frustrating watching other groups arrive and then leave within a few minutes as we had to sit and wait for our bus to finally arrive, then not being able to enjoy the tour of the city that we were told would happen.

Female 16 United Kingdom We had to queue for hours to get food at Barangaroo

Male 21 Italy We had the English Liturgy Guides in our kits, instead of the Italian ones. Everyday food was not so good and sometimes not enough. More showers, please. We were too many using the few showers we had.

Female 52 United States We had a beautiful experience at WYD. We were a small family group of only 4. Please promote WYD as an incredible FAMILY experience. It is so important to young people to see their parents moved and impressed by the beauty of our faith. WYD helped us as a family to grow to appreciate the vastness of our Church. What a thrill to be so close to the Pope!

Male 57 Australia We found the online registration process difficult to action and confusing. We wanted to register as individuals not necessarily as part of a group but the system did not seem able to accomodate this. Confirmation of our succesful registration was very late in its arrival, less than one week from the event when we had registered months before.

Female 47 New Zealand We didn't recieve a Youth Festival program with our pack and we recieved one from a kind priest on Thursday and I felt I sort of let my group down for not knowing what was happening . I can't recall it being available on the internert prior to going to WYD otherwise I would have printed one off .It was full on ,lots to do.All and all agreat experience Thank you

Male 51 New Zealand We decided to attend early in the actual week of WYD. It was wonderful how there was no problem at all with registering and getting accommodation and food organised at that late stage. The online registration system worked fine for us, and seemed to work well for the people behind the scenes as well. We hope that Madrid will have a good system too.

Male 21 New Zealand Was TOTALLY AWESOME!.....the registration, comminication of information, travel arrangents, food...was GREAT!...... Accomodation..was great! and along with facilities! Hopefully all goes according to plan as Madrid, Spain hosts the 2011 WORLD YOUTH DAY!...... See you in 2011, Madrid, Spain.

Male 55 Australia Was not impressed with HJarvest Tours. I felt their pricing was over the top and possibly detered a lot from going. Food could be looked at. This is a huge area. IF anyone can

come up with a way to feed so many efficiently, they will be doing well, but it needs to be looked at. AUstrlia did a good job, but too much of the same was not inviting. I ended up taking my 60 people to McDonalds on several nights. In future, if I lead another group, I think we would need to look into the food situation.

Female 17 Australia Was horrible on the first day, the queue to go to barangaroo was insane, and food took forever to get. But as each day went on it got better.

Male 22 Australia was happy with it ... there was some hardship but that's why its called pilgrimage :)

Female 25 Australia Was a bit tricky to get organised with the registration tags and meal tickets that first night.....we needed a bit more direction about what had to happen.

Male 22 Australia Warehouse operations were awesome!!!

Female 24 New Zealand volunteers were sooooooooooooooo wonderful. i think it worked so well.

Male 19 Australia Volunteers were greatly encouraging, one could be sure that when passing one of them we would get an encouraging comment or smile.

Female 47 South Africa VOLUNTEERS WERE GREAT. REGISTRATION WAS A NIGHTMARE!!!!!! LONG QUEUS AND WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO THE FRONT ONLY ONE OF 20 WAS IN OUR PACK - WHEN OTHERS ARRIVED WE HAD DIFFERENT TICKETS WHICH CAUSED HASSLES EVERYWHERE WE WENT! AS STATED FOOD DREADFUL!!! WE HAD OUR OWN ACCOMODATION. PUBLIC TRANSPORT GREAT!

Male 26 Philippines very well-organized. Thank you very much!

Male 19 Philippines very well organized, life changing, etc i loved EVERY PART of it :)

Female 43 United States very well organized overall.

Female 53 Australia Very well organised. Volunteers, police and railway staff were great. Incredible detail of planning and infrastructure.

Female 19 Australia Very well organised!

Male 60 Australia Very well organised give the enormous task.

Male 28 Malta Very well organised from a logistcs point of view in Sydney. I hope Madrid will be equally organised. Transport was always very very efficient - platforms were never too crowded. Volunteers were found everywhere at every corner! I went to Rome in the 2000 WYD - but Sydney was much much more organised. WELL DONE

Female 19 very well organised

Male 39 Australia Very well organised

Male 34 Australia Very well organised

Female 19 Australia Very well done. Australia did an excellent job. Only thing stopping me from attending Madrid is it's overseas in a forign country and I do not know how safe it is. With knowledge that it will be very similar to Australia in safety measures, I won't be afraid to go.

Male 48 Australia very very good experience; the universal church

Male 23 Austria Very nice people!

Female 20 Canada Very impressed at the whole organization of the city in terms of transportation, food services, and trafficking. The meals were substantial, and the entertainment was worth while. Thank you very much for the support and help when it was needed. I really appreciate it.

Male 24 Australia very great God bless us all !

Female 19 Mexico Very good organization and people's attention. Volunteers were very helpful, maps and information about sydneys climate, etc.. Better public bathrooms.

Male 21 Australia very good organisation. So many volunteers and they were very helpful. food was a bit unorganised and disordaly but it was worth it.

Female 22 Australia VERY good - EXCELLENT transport and organisation with everything (a few hours of waiting was NOTHING - GREAT opportunity to have a chat with someone and learn about their life) THANKYOU!! A job WELL DONE!

Female 17 Australia very excitied. i dont care if i have uni or other commitments, im definatly going to all future WYDs

Male 18 Australia Very disappointed with the food. I don't think I could eat a meal in a bag again. I know it's hard to cater for such a massive amount of people, yet the menu could change on a daily basis. I found there was too much energy based foods, nothing overly filling and substantial (especially the lunches). The toilet facilities were good, and the transport was great. It's vital that all the transport staff are willing to help any pilgrims who need assistance, good job on that.

Male 22 Australia Unfortunately the food on offer during WYD was awful - whilst I and my friends appreciated that any attempt to provide hot food for so many people was always going to be dogged by problems of quality and distribution, it was really substandard and was not a great image of Australia to be projecting to our international visitors. The free transport was great, although as everyone knows the CityRail network doesn't serve Sydney as well as it might - I'm guessing that won't be so much of an issue in Madrid though. I was also disappointed by the lack of catering to speakers of languages other than English - I was travelling with some friends from France for a few days prior to WYD and their English wasn't tops - none of the signage in the city or on the transport system erected for pilgrims was translated and none of the WYD assistants they met spoke other languages - this could have been improved. But honestly, crowd control was good, rubbish disposal and toilet facilities were plentiful and of a high standard and sound quality and video-relay at the big events in the city and at Randwick were good. It was a big job, and much of it was commendably executed.

Female 24 New Zealand Um the food for people with allergies wasn't very helpful. Don't know if it was my team leader or the organisers but there were rumours of gluten free food but no definites. It would have been better to not pay for food in my package and just bought my own, since that's what I ended up doing most of the time anyway.

Female 21 Australia Two things - 1) trains were so very well organised! i went to Cologne, and travelling on trains was AWFUL. as a small-group leader, i was DREADING taking my group on the trains. but Sydney rail people did FANTASTIC. they should be commended. 2) De La Selle boys college is where we stayed - they were FANTASTIC. Looked after us all so well, and were so kind and giving. GREAT.

Female 61 Australia Two of the bishops at our catechisis[st paul's school castle hill] preached inspiring homilies, but hadn't a clue about, [even seemed uncomfortable about] teaching young people. The last, a'baby bishop' from England was a fantastic communicator in both.

Male 23 Canada 'Twas relatively well organized all things considered. I wish the volunteers would come around encouraging pilgrims to attend certain workshops.

Female 18 Canada Turn out the lights at the vigil! More places for eucharistic adoration, all the time. that's all. THANK YOU!!!

Female 53 United States tuck" in the confines of the terminal for such an extended period! What better way to start this Pilgrimage?! During our 22-or-so hours in the plane

Female 16 Malaysia Try to not have too many events running at the same time cause like we can't split ourselves. It's like there are more than one event that I want to go for, but they're running at the same time. So I have to like pick one and skip the other. It's kind of a lost there. Could the WYD week be made longer? =D

Male 17 Australia Try to make it seem as long as possible :)

Female 31 United States Try to allow people to flow more freely into and out of the events. A little les security -- lets try to be trusting. Not blocking off the streets around major events. Cut down on walking (but keep the Pilgrim Walk).

Female 48 Australia Tremendous organisation. Less of the same food everyday though would have been good!

Female 48 United Kingdom Travelling in sydney was excellent and the transport passes were great. Food was good consedering the numner of people but by the 4th day I was tired of Tuna and also the hot meals but there was plenty food and well organised

Male 58 Australia Travelled to WYD, by group bus, Melbourne to Sydhey. Disappointed in not getting HOT food at most stopovers. I missed the first catethesis mass because I thought it would be boring, but after talking to the groups who attended, I became interested and attended and attended and was rapt. I was so impressed by by the BISHOP's talks, I loved them. I strongly believe that the Church needs to send these Bishops or Priests who can talk like this to our catholic schools. Bring the young back to the Faith.

Female 25 Australia Travel was very hard and accommodation ould have been a bit better oganised.

Female 31 Australia Travel between locations eg Horton Pavillion and city was not well organised and meant many people couldn;t make it as it was too hard and didn't have food distribution. Some venue were moved and obviously you didn;t know till it was too late. Reserving tickets on line had it's benefits but also meant that people thought a venue was booked out and didn;t try to come along even though there was heaps of space. We should have more

opportunity to attend really good speakers about basic cathoilic knowlege eg Christopher West was booked out and this message is so important to Catholics. Even televising the same seminar across large areas would have been good to get the message across. MOre adoration of the blessed sacrament and education about the Eucharist.

Female 16 Australia Travel arrangements weren't so great for the inter-state pilgrims - we were in a disused warehouse & everyone got sick. But everything else was fantastic!

Male 19 Guam travel arrangements were okay, registration was fairly simple, food and accommodation was ok. i just hope it goes for the same with Madrid2011, oh well more bathrooms would be great, and especially public security so that the crowd would at least feel 'safe'.

Female 26 United Kingdom Travel arrangements were difficult for our group. The bus from the airport to the Days in the Diocese cost our group a LOT and we almost had to cancel it beacuse I think they pushed the price up at the last minute. If companies take advantage of WYD, I think this is a little unfortunate and goes against the principles of WYD.

Female 18 United States travel arrangements great food needs a little bit more work...i didn't eat a couple times more facilities accommodation was good i think showers should be offered more at more places. more variety of fruit a little bit more time to sleep and add a day or two to the weekly events...I'd love to stay longer merchandise should be everywhere i didn't get to buy enough things cause the lines were long but thru it all i had lots of fun and i can't wait for the next one thank you and god bless

Male 31 United States transportation from days of the diocese. need to make sure that the lugguage follows goes with the pilgrims not in seperate places.

Male 27 Australia Transportation back to Melbourne from Sydney was badly handled. Being forced to stop at set stations where refreshments were so expensive does not seem just.

Female 21 Australia Transportation and baggage I think is crucial to the safe arrival/ departure of participants and their belongings. My group unfortunately lost our baggage because they've been sent to the wrong accommodation place and it took almost 48 hours for the transportation (bus from Melbourne) company to retrieve the baggage. I recommend that all belongings stay within the small groups as much as space and safety allow so as to avoid loss of belongings, comfort and convenience amongst other things. Food is another important element in WYD (of course). While it was meant to be a pilgrimage, I found the curry dinners a little unbearable after a while although I do understand the convenience logic behind this food item. The amount of meat pies I've eaten during the week, too, felt like a person's quota of meat pies for a month. I think I ate it every alternate day or something, and thrice during the bus trip to Sydney alone. Anyway, point is, I understand the conditions and restrictions of mass food distribution but if something could be done, a little variety wouldn't harm. Otherwise, well, it is a pilgrimage after all.

Female 21 Australia Transport arrangements between the pilgrims and Hillsbus/Westbus (servicing the North-West/Hills District) was atrocious. As one of the group leaders, I dealt with a lot of upset pilgrims calling from the city saying bus drivers were being abusive, not letting them on the bus and making them pay. Communication is key!!!

Male 23 Singapore Traffic, crowd control and transport at all major events and venues throughout the entire WYD was very well done. Toilets were very clean and sufficient for every major event, except for the last 2 events at Randwick, it was quite frustrating having to wait up to an hour for a toilet on an urgent bladder.

Female 21 United States TOO much time between meals. There were many times that I had hunger pangs from not eating. Maybe distributing more bags of snacks for each group before long walks would help with this. Many pilgrims were exerting much more energy than they were consuming. Thank You!

Male 17 Philippines Too many events, too little time.

Male 36 Qatar toilets are not much visible at Randwick.

Female 46 Australia Toilet facilities at Randwick were below standard.

Female 52 Canada To try and get any information about other happenings going on (eg workshops, other small concerts)out before the groups arrive so they have time to go over the information and make some choices on other things they might want to take part in.

Male 19 United Arab Emirates To the WYD08 team in Sydney: a big thank you for looking after us really well (comfortable accommodation, great transport, helpful backpack items, mostly warm food, plenty of toilets). A great job! Well done!

Male 16 Australia To start off on bad note, the food was quite bland and tasteless. there wasn't enough food to fill me or anyone i knew. I was unimpressed when i woke up Sunday morning to the rush of new pilgrims piling into our area right where we were sleeping. i wondered whether they had paid for their tickets when they sat right in front of other people's tents. There were also not enough directional signs on the way to Barangaroo. And i could not find one Youth Festival during the day. the WYD helpine wasn't very helpful when i rang up inquiring about what non- pilgrims could go in and watch. The phone-personnel knew as much as i did. On a better note, the screens were placed in good positions, the confessions were amazing, even outside which made a great feel. The adoration was likewise, though the tents could have been larger and the entertainment at Randwick was like nohing i had heard before. The presentation and running of the mass and vigil were perfect. However, candles could have been given out with paper or carboard or candle holders to prevent dripping wax. The toilets were amazingly disastrous. The overflowing toilets and the empty toilet rolls made me feel very sad for the women. Although the cubicles were quite stable. In Madrid 2011 i hope that they have improved on these faults and kept the same quality of technology or improved it. I think if i was from another country coming over here i would be confused with the lack of multi-langual assistance, etc. Let's pray it doesn't rain in Madrid. I also hope the prices aren't has expensive as they were in 2008, especially for a teenager like myself with a parent. The WYD bag and its contents were well distributed and are extremely helpful i my religious journey. Especially, the compendium catechism of the catholic church, which as really helped me discover my faith. Instructions would've helped with the torch and more reliable merchandise, eg, necklaces that didn't break, fall apart. IF a pilgrim or just someone wanting to visit the Youth Fesitival at any time during the week, it would be very helpful to have an online day planner which involved selecting ur place to be, times, how to get there, so that it would be easier and smoother to organise outings while seeing a lot in the process. Thankyou very much. It was an experience of a lifetime....literally! P.S. the above may make it sound quite bad/ruined but these are only minor faults that ultimately, didn't affect the end result. For the pilgrim must give all he or she has to receive the full extent of the power. God bless.

Male 24 Australia To stand up for those who are not sure of what to do earlier about coming world youth day would be the best convenient thing ever.

Female 27 American Samoa to all: WYD-SYD08 from: Miss Senerita Mary Aulaumea of Leone, American Samoa Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago. Message: I would like to take this great opportunity to say thank you for all your time, your effort, your support and most of all your kind hospitality shown to all pilgrims back in July...i felt so welcomed by all of your parishes of your diocese. Thank you Cardinal Pell, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and all the young and old australian who shared with us the true meaning of kindness with love. A few special thanks to the residents of Liverpool (the host samoan community for Leauva'a group and the diocese of samoa-pago group)where Tuala & Sala resides with Tevaga & Vaifale as well as to all the chiefs and their lovely families who spent times and days with us, your friendly smiles back on the wyd week as well as your endless prayers brought us warmth comfort in the cold night at Randwick, therefore i would like to say once again...THANK YOU all, and may the blessing of the Advent Season and the awaiting of the birth of Christ brings you and your families a prosperous new year, through Christ our Lord... Amen!! Thank you (if translated in Samoan,Fa'afetai Tele Lava)

Female 35 Australia Thumbs up for WYD committee & volunteers. I understand all you obstacle and everything but you all have pass it all & still deliver to us. With all your hard work & sacrifice. Many thanks to you all. God Bless you all & keep doing the good work !!!!!!!!!!! The only things if i can give feedback is the online registration is not user-friendly, difficult to work with. Often error. It will be great if we can fix this for Madrid WYD, as Spain has a good IT resource. Also the registration process (getting name tag, backpack, accomodation, volunteer pack, etc)was a nightmare. I cant imagine those who come from overseas and still couldnt get accomodation/pass. If this can be improved it will be a positive bonus. As registration process is a starting point from all other WYD event. That's all THANKKKSSSSS...God BLESS !!!

Female 19 Australia Thought it was excellent. Australia seems to handle big events like that (i.e WYD, commonwealth games etc) exceptionally well and WYD lived up to our standards. The facilities were a lot better than what i was expecting. Again i have nothing negative to say about the organisation of WYD Sydney 2008.

Female 24 United States those 'discerning' to stay at convents/ orders/ etc. instead of just host homes? bikes? healthier food...

Female 32 Australia This WYD was very well organised. As always, toilets at the overnight vigil can be a problem, but even though some broke down, Sydney was the best of any previous similar events I've been to by far. Food packs were also well organised. However, we were staying an hour out of the city, which meant that it wasn't always feasible to get the WYD food packs - so we got our own takeaway or had to find someone with a car to collect our lunch packs.

Female 21 Canada This World Youth Day was very well organised and it would bre great if it will be as organised in Madrid. I most enjoyed the easy directinos for getting to event sites, the many prominently placed volunteers, the pilgrim packs.

Male 23 United States This was my third world youth day, and I was extremely impressed with the kind, professional, well planned organization of the Sydney World Youth Day. I was extremely happy with the Day in the Diocese event (I attended in Melbourne) and my family also had a fantastic time (in Newcastle). The DID really set the tone for the WYD pilgrimage and made it a much better overall experience.

Female 19 Canada This was my first WYD and I expected it to be a lot less organised because of the sheer amount of people. However, it was amazingly well done and well organised. I was very impressed and according to others who were at past WYDs this has been the best organised so far!

Female 24 Canada This was my 3rd WYD, and I found this one to be really well organized. One thing in particular was the volunteers in Sydney: they were incredibly helpful!

Female 23 Canada This was by far the best WYD i've attended! so great to have to plastic mats at randwick (no mud!), and we definelty had enough food (unlike at other WYDs) Thank you!!

Female 32 Trinidad and Tobago This was by far the BEST organised WYD and Madrid needs to follow this pattern not Germany's. Perhaps there should be a rotation system for the Vigil so bigger pilgrim groups won't always get the front seats. We registered early and were placed for the second time all the way in the back for every single event where we could see nothing. Because of our Spiritual preparation before we were able to focus despite those who were partying around us. Also there was some miscommunication with Days in the Diocese and the parish only confirmed we were coming 3 weeks before even though we had been communicating with them since January. The parish was obviously not getting the info.

Male 16 Australia this survey was to long

Female 24 United States This is more logistics. I honestly thought that we would have to 'rough it' more as far as facilities goes (even the sleep-over at Randwick). So I prepared my group and myself to do so. We expected to sleep on the grass or dirt, expected limited facilities, etc. But we were surprised by how that wasn't the case at all. Thank you for that. I would imagine that this would be overlooked by some people, so I would like to say thanks. It made our experience that much better, easier and more comfortable. =) Also, the volunteers. WOW! Amazing group of people. Always serving with a smile, ready to help and assist anyone and everyone. Inspiring, for sure. Thanks WYD team! God bless!

Male 37 Australia this is just minor the volunteers continued to send us to wrong locations.The bus trip from melb to Sydney took 16 hours

Female 44 New Zealand This all worked very well - a big thank you to the volunteers. Also thank you to the wonderful homestay people we were billeted with. They went out of their way to help us - even getting up at 4 a.m. the day we left to cook us breakfast! So so good - really big-hearted people and we loved them for it. Thank you too to everyone who had input into the programme and the organisation. It all seemed to work really really well considering the large numbers of people involved. God Bless you all!!! :-)

Female 34 Australia There were technical difficulties with the WYD site regarding registrations. The site said people hadn't paid when they had, however this was not a problem regarding getting passes. Service was friendly and helpful at the call centre. Transport organisation was supurb, particularly for getting to and from Randwick. As a teacher supervising pilgrims overnight at a primary school, I think the shower facilities for pilgrims was terrible as it didn't allow for privacy. Pilgrims showered in swimmers. I expected more for Australian standards. Overall, WYD (from my perspective as a pilgrim and volunteer) was a well organised highly successful event. The Catholic youth really were a witness to Sydney in a positive way.

Female 17 Australia there were some programs in which were on at the same time. Also, breaks in between various programs would be helpful for getting from one event to another.

Female 61 Australia There were so many good things we did not get to do e.g. go to Broadway, Christopher West etc. Our group had to choose beforehand what we wanted to do as a group and I don't think our group realised the value of some things which is why we chose e.g. concerts. My

suggestion would be more channelled opportunities so that people did not have to choose one of e.g. eight opportunities.

Female 52 Australia There were problems with the on lilne registration - at times it was a nightmare. The general organisation in Sydney was fantastic. Thanks to all the organisers who helped make it so - and the volunteers were amazing too.

Male 33 Australia There were huge problems for volunteers when WYD office organisation failed. Some examples: 1. Last minute changes in plans for accommodation and poor communication left pilgrims and volunteers in great distress (one man was left on inner city streets and at the police station all night as he was given incorrect information. In fact the entire venue for his accommodation was changed and we had not been informed either of the original or the changed plans) 2. Receiving wrong or inadequate supplies of food 3. Not required equipment left in inappropriate places and without checking with parish. 4. One man who had paid three months ahead and had bank statements to show the money had gone from his account was not on his group's registration list, and even though he visited the WYD office who assured him he was registered, he never received any food or access ticket. Luckily he was not picked up on the train without a ticket, we organised accommodation and gave him a spare backpack and he paid for his own meals until someone managed to get a unused ticket from somewhere. 5. When a group were told on Wednesday the could not use their accommodation on Saturday or Sunday we put them up in the parish church and presbytery as best we could. These are just a few examples from one site.

Female 19 Germany there were far too many things to do- although that gave a great variety. registration was ok i think. it sucked a bit to be a certain number to get food because sometimes it seemed to be impossible to find people... i m a bit afraid that madrid will be too much spanish ( the language) i dont speak spanish and it would be a pity not being able to enjoy the event because of the language barrier ( tranlators would be an option although this is quite exhausting for all) a good topic should be helpful (e.g the sydney topic was good whereas the cologne one wasnt really good). i m also afraid that the next event will be more social and less focused on God/Jesus/Spirit...he should still be at the center

Female 18 Australia there were a number of people who had special dietary requirements, those that were vegetarians were only offered one type of food all the time whereas everyone else were given a selection. those that were vegetarians got sick of the food they were given and so would go to maccas or some other fast food place and eat there. and for the lunches while it was enjoyble for us , vegetarians were given tuna... how is that filling? and they dont eat meat so they cant eat it.

Female 41 Australia There were a couple of things that annoyed me about WYD - minor but still. When we finished our walk and got to Randwick there was no where to sleep in our designated area because people from the back had moved towards the front. Also, as petty as this may sound, there was no real coffee or hot chocolate on offer. Sure there was that packet stuff but it was hideous and you needed to wait half an hour for it. That said although there were a few complaints about the food given the size of the crowd I thought it was pretty well done.

Female 23 Netherlands There was something 'wrong' with the communication between the Dutch organisation committee and the Australian committee. Some information came in very late, so I don't know what was happening and what I should tell my group. One of the things was sleeping seperately (the Dutch groups came to their accommodation mixed (boys and girls) while the care takes were expecting only boys or only girls. Also about the accommodation: we were supposed to leave our accommodation the Monday after Closing Mass, as school started the day after. It would have been great if we had been told that when we arrived at the accommodation, now we didn't know what to expect.

Female 61 Australia There was some confusion at parish level with regards registration and finally the picking up of back-packs etc. But if that is all the problem there was one must say all went smoothly

Female 27 United States There was so much going on, that I know I missed several things. We did not have a complete schedule of all the Youth Fair activities until the last day, so we missed several things. We had the Liturgy guides in our backpacks, but having a schedule of the Youth Fair activities would help a great deal. :)

Female 20 Australia There was not enough time to see everything we wanted to see. Like you would want to see one talk but it was on the same time as another. So I don't know if we could get transcripts or be able to download talks on line etc. It would have just been good to have things online that we missed or would love to watch/hear again.

Male 29 Australia There was not enough spiritual and formation activities. Too many 'entertaining' activities, which I believe what wyd is not about. The art was terrible. I didn't go to wyd to hear people sing songs and dance about, esp. if it doesn't teach me anything. I didn't want a concert. I wanted a spiritually engaging experience through prayer, teachings, discussion and learning. There were very few opportunities for this. Or perhaps it was not timetabled well or placed in the best of locations to get from one event to the other. But the event on the whole was run very smoothly. Thank you to the organisers and all the volunteers. And Sydney provided it's services efficiently and effectively, thank you and well done.

Female 37 Australia There was far too much central control with Egeria - it is a good idea in theory, and a base that Madrid could work on. To make it efficent it needed to: a) make it open source for a beta version, so that more minds coud fine tune it. b) have it much more intutitve, and a place where people who entered a LOT of pilgrims could feed back glitches (eg if you didnt hit save before you moved to the next tab it lost the data) c) have a level of access that diocesan coordinators with many groups could work from, to see i) what groups had been created in the diocese, dump data into excel spreadsheets and upload excell spreadsheets with changes (eg fix obvious typos in email addresses for pilgrims) d) have the option to close a group when it was 'full' - eg to match with bus loads, staff ratios etc. This would allow for all the issues with allocating accommodation, transport, sending sleeppacks to be sorted out much earlier in the process. It was ridiculous that we had to wait so long for accommodation allocations and that they changed so often in the last week. This led to considerable stress on the part of group leaders and diocesan coordinators who were seen to be responsible for the decisions that Sydney HQ made. There have been MANY comments to me about the 'high' liturgy not connecting with young people. Even if the Pope enjoys classical music and it 'legally' must be high liturgy when he is present, there were numerous other opportunities for some more modern music around the main events, especially between 8am and 10am on the Sunday at Randwick, or even during the Vigil. I think Receive the Power Live got it just right. Matt Maher could transform an 'old Classic' of 'Here I am Lord' to make it feel new, but familiar. Bishop Joe gave a rousing talk, that moved into prayerful adoration. We need more of this kind of connection with young people at what is supposed to be a youth event. Talking to Sydney based pilgrims i took to Past WYDs these big events have seemed more special when there is a really close connection in a tight group of young people, but when you are just a person in the crowd, there is a lot less impact and a lot less connection with what is happening on the altar.

Female 20 Malaysia There was excessive crowd at certain places and I noticed some pilgrims were crying as they lost there group members in the crowd. I would suggest a crowd control team for the next WYD to manage the places where there are too much of pilgrims.

Female 18 New Zealand There was an urgent need for more showers as some places had one shower block for 100 people to share. . maybe three shower blocks per area would have been more convenient as people had to wake up at 3am just to take showers . .making them very tired throughout the day. travel arrangements were very good . fast transport. highly recommended. the food was too basic.

Male 55 United States There was a problem of getting our registration information to the host parish for the Days in the Diocese in Melbourne. Somehow that information was never forwarded. It seems there was a shortage of long-term volunteers. Perhaps what is needed is a pool of long- term volunteers who could offer their services on an ongoing basis. Either religious or lay volunteers could be considered missionaries in the full sense of the term. They could work directly under the Office of the Laity at the Vatican.

Female 24 Canada There was a lot of confusion with registrations and such. Otherwise, this WYD had the best food, best accommodations, best transportation, and events ever!

Female 26 Australia There was a lack of communication throughout the parishes and even on the website - which seemed overcrowded and filled with vague information. Suggest having a less cluttered website with exact information.

Female 22 Australia There should have been more ease in moving around when at Randwick. I had German girls stay with myself and my family during the days in the diocese and I was really looking forward to meeting up with them again at Randwick but was denied that opportunity because of security, this was very disappointing. Everything else was good though.

Male 60 United States There should be better communication within the WYD system. I would have liked to find: 1. the Bishop from San Jose, the Seminarians from the Diocese, and other San Jose church groups. You should have shared the Registration codes with at least the local groups so we could find one another. Also there could have been a locator code for everyone at Randwick. This could have been done online with maps.

Male 25 Samoa There should be a more time to spent during the days in the diocese because this is the time we really get to know a new country and also its people and also the way other Catholics believed in our faith. There should be a more lookout on the registration where all should be registered probably.

Male 59 Australia There remains a lack of focus in the Catholic Church on a youth apostolate and a genuine attempt to be relevant to youth. This may see the demise of the church as we know it. The church will live where it develops vibrant, inclusive community and will not appeal if it maintains its hierarchical style. The church will remain relevant in developing nations if it sides with the poor.

Female 19 Australia There organisation in Sydney was outstanding. Staying in schools worked very well and I hope Madrid's organisation of events is at least as impressive.

Female 31 Canada There needs to be a way for individuals to register if they are not going with a group.

Female 32 Austria there needs to be a improvement of the food and how much off your own time you can use

Male 60 Australia There certainly should be more emphasis on community prayer after the example of St. Paul's epistle to the Corinthians.There is a crying need to untame St. Paul.

Female 25 Canada There are some who think the new more rock style of music is inappropriate at mass, and that it is more like a concert than worship. To say that one style of music is more like worship than another is a judgment on people's ability to enter into a relationship with God through music. (Granted, heavy metal will more likely incite anger than a relationship with God.) However, the classical, the EXTREME emphasis on orchestra and big choir, of the aboriginal dancing(it was good the first few times, it was too much after the first mass.) felt more like a show to me. It felt like they were ignoring the fact that many young people fall in love with God through music they can identify with - through a more rock based music(Check out Hillsong's style); like they were trying to say 'WE know the RIGHT way to worship'. For me, a simple 5 piece rock band feels more humble and down to earth, down to where I am, compared to a 150 piece ensemble that is 'the best of the best for God' grandiose but gets lost in the being 'the best' and forgets the humility. (And I'm a music major in university. I know what orchestras are all about.) I think you LOST most of the attention of the youth through the ochestral style of music, AND the choice of music for the concerts. When we hear 'concert', we expect 'concert'. Not a world wide tallent show. There are LOTS of amazing CATHOLIC bands out there, who can bring people closer to God through their music, even if its not praise and worship. The few who were brought in, (Matt Mhar, Fr. Stan, ect) were on at random times, (ex. at 2 in the afternoon at Randwick, when most pilgrims didn't arrive till after 7)The music used to 'wake us up' and 'put us to sleep' were the more modern and rock based styles of music(everything we would consider as a concert) For our 'concert', you played handbells. Handbells are only cool if your the one playing them. The rest of us, can't appreciate it the same way. Furthermore, for those who are not strong in their faith, who don't have a relationship with God, who aren't involved in their church or aren't even Catholic get this idea that this style of music is what we are all about. The Church includes everyone, with every preference of music. BUT at a YOUTH event, people expect YOUTH music. If you get caught up in the politics of we need so many teens performing, and this clasical singer, for statistics or whatever, you miss the real role and presence of music. Music is to reveal beauty and point to something beyond yourself. That is why music is fundamental in worship, it gets you out of yourself so you can enter in with God more deeply. Music that we can't identify with, pushes us away from entering in, - NOT bringing us closer to God. If the youth who are unsure of their faith see orchestral bands and handbells, THAT is the impression they have of the Catholic church. Which combined with all the things it tells them is wrong (ie. abortion and gay marriages) they will only walk away from God instead of letting go of their own ideas to be open to the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying the Holy Spirit can't go beyond our limitations, but God gave us musical ability and the insight to use it for God's Glory. It felt like there was a political push of authority on acceptable music for worship. Generally, I can enter into worship even with a group who is off key or can't play well. I struggled a lot to enter into music that felt like show, lacking humility. The theme song was INCREDIBLE! I felt the presence of God the very frist time I heard it, and even to the last day of the event. At Barangaroo when Papa first came, I was overcome with the presence of God through that song and the carrying of all the flags. And something changed when the orchestra played and the focus was put on the aboriginal dancers. PLEASE DO NOT ignore the movements of the Spirit when it comes to music. The Church's teachings will never change- they are as they were given by Christ. Music is not the direct teaching of the church. Music CAN change with the times. Music can make the Church's teachings more accessible to the general population. The Holy Spirit moves and reveals what we know in new ways(look at all the new movements and their fruits!) and these new ways of understanding old and solid doctrine draw people into relationship with God- which is the only purpose of faith - To bring us back to relationship and unity with God. I would like to say more about some of the comments that were political and unnecessary, but, i think i've said enough.

Female 43 Australia There are many people who don't fit into the 'square box'; thank God for Jesus, and others, who show us there 'are many rooms in my Father's house'. Whilst WYD encourages people to experience 'faith' en-mass, others within the same age group gain from being part of the event, but in 'smaller' ways. Please email me on [email protected], as it would be fantastic for people with other needs to be more involved in, and benefit from, World Youth Day.

Female 17 Australia The youth of the world are not all Catholics, so make a little more room for those who aren't!

Female 22 Australia The WYD program of events was fantastic! But busy! I think groups could have this fact reinforced to them in communications and be strongly encouraged to have a plan for including prayer as a group and 'down time' into their group's schedule and to figure this out prior to going to a WYD. The food was surprisingly good! Basic but completely suitable for a pilgrimage. The organisation of collecting passes and allocations to areas was a little confusing.

Male 51 United States The WYD organization did a beautiful job,everything ran smoothly, all things considered. God Bless all of you.

Female 22 Philippines The WYD is a great experience for me and my friends. We are so much involved now in different activities of the Youth. We grew more because of this life changing event!

Male 26 Philippines The WYD in Sydney was very well organised. I definetely enjoyed every bit of the experience. Being proficient in the English language was likewise a big advantage. However, language is my biggest concern for the next WYD since I'm not fluent in Spanish. I wish the Spanish government in Madrid and the organizers for the next WYD consider this as a very important hurdle to overcome.

Female 47 United States The WYD in Sydney was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I left with such a renewed and re-energized feeling about my faith that its still with me today. I am looking foward to the Spain experience, God willing!!!!

Male 60 United States The WYD in Sydney seemed much better organized and easier to manage day-to-day than the previous one in Cologne.

Female 32 Tanzania The WYD in Australia was very very nice but just little bit in case of registration was difficult because many things were needed for entering the Contry which made many youth especialy from Africa fail to join the WYD.

Female 58 Australia The WYD back pack should have come earlier so I can have enough time to plan the journey of the day. To me it is better to arrange myself to attend those programme that I like rather to jion the boring ones. The food: cannot complain.Acyually, the venue that I attended food is unexpectingly good. Unfortunately a lot of pilgm found not enough free time to see this beautiful country. They may not have chance to come back due to finance and ability. If just stuck in one institution for the whole week why not just do it in your own place? e.g. the H.K. group just stay with the H.K. group and listened to the chinese bishop. Why don't they just do it in H.K.?

Male 24 Philippines The WYD 2008 is a very organized event. Hope that the next organizers would be able to maintain the peace and order that Australians have just accomplished.

Male 53 Australia The worst aspect was registration. I felt so frustrated by it that I even endured completing this online survey! When I tried to register, I was put off by having to be part of a group and then found that IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO REGISTER ONLINE: the websites just sent me back and forward between them. I had to go into the city to register and met another woman who'd had the same frustrating experience! Then I paid what I thought was a lot of money to attend one day and didn't get one of those backpacks. Then I found on the pilgrim walk that security staff were handing out entrance cars to anyone who wanted them anyway!!!

Female 33 Philippines The whole organization was well done with so much concern for the pilgrims all over the world. I am deeply grateful to the WYD organizers and Australian government for facilitating the things for us. I am deeply moved by your hospitality. The only observation and suggestion I have was about the ladies who were not well dressed (i.e., Hawaiian outfit) who performed on stage outside the Sydney Opera House. I think it would have been better if their clothes were decent.

Female 56 New Zealand The whole organisation of WYD in Sydney was fantastic - I was especially thrilled the morning after the sllep out at Randwick Race Course to find a contingency of pilgrims we had hosted at the toothbrush brigade- bathrooms. Millions of thanks for all the hard work of the volunteers behind the scenes.

Female 43 New Zealand The whole of NZ's WYD travel contract was given to ONE travel company (rugby specialist -blah!) - cost over inflated and service / communication was not great. We felt ripped off! Made fundraising much harder and would have reflected on the number of pilgrims numbers that COULD have gone, if prices were more realistic. The NZ church needed to employ professional expertise with experience in large event management - better control over how the costs and communication played out (i.e. travel contractor took a %) in keeping with servant leader ethos (as apposed to marketing - there's $ to be made!)

Male 19 Ireland The whole event was brilliantly organised and managed. Well done to all!!!

Female 31 Australia The week was very well organised. The venues and transport to them was good. The toilet provisions were excellent. The amount of activities and events available was fantastic.

Male 45 Australia The website was horrible to log into and to do anything on. A series of e-mails pointing out problems were responded to slowly and they came up with lots of ways to work around problems... or tried to explain why the problems didn't really exist... but they never fixed the root problems. I think it affected attendance. The food was very unhealthy in some instances ie. very sugary. People kept ordering more than they needed because they couldn't be bothered waiting to find an extra person or two. I found that I never had a complete list of events... and that the event descriptions were sometimes sorely lacking. A lot more of this stuff should have gone on line... but there seemed to be no way of doing this (I was an event organiser... and we ended up pushing it on our local community but never made it into any official WYD calendar). A lot of people were excluded from certain events that were ticketed... and stood outside or went home... and there were usually HEAPS of spaces. I felt the injustic of this more strongly at the Ozanam lecture in Melbourne were people were segregated and excluded and the lecture was on inclusion. Poor show!!! ...and having a special VIP section afterwards also stank of hypocrisy. Similar problems existed with the mass at Telstra dome... where people wanted to come but didn't have tickets... so the place had lots of space... and people got turned away. You need to become a bit better at ad hoc event management... and make it clear that if spaces exist people will be let in. Nobody told me that... so I almost went home. People felt excluded not included.

Male 28 United Kingdom The website for registration was not particularly straightforward, especially in terms of the glitches in the system and crashed several times. This made the registration process difficult. However, the organisation at the events themselves during the WYD was excellent and made any earlier problems seem trivial.

Male 38 South Africa The Website did seem to be a bit confusing, and I had to phone the WYD offices in Australia several times...

Female 24 Australia The website and online booking was informative and easy to use. The volunteers were very helpful in Sydney - givng directions and motivating us during our long walk to Radwick. Well done Sydney for handling such a massive event!

Female 48 United States The way WYD in Toronto had the food set up was very convenient!

Female 61 New Zealand The way that the disabled were treated by the organisers was dreadful on the whole, I even did a TV interview on it after making enquiries as to why the care was on occasion abusive - the Aussies are not very savvy re caring for people with disabilities. On all major occasions at SYDWYD the disabled were herded together at the very back, unable to even see the big screens and when I asked why I was told so that we were near the toilets!! No one travelled to Sydney to be near a toilet. My husband and I travelled on to Europe from Sydney and ended up in Rome at a Papal audience and were treated altogether differently. If Rome can respect those with disabilities so could have SYDWYD. In fact I think that it is an excellent opportunity at WYD to make the young people aware that they can serve one another as Christ told us and therefore make others aware of the needs of those with disabilities and those of third world.

Female 30 Australia The was appauling, processed and too much sugar. We could of done better. Fresh fruit..... That is why I got sick for 10 days after I returned.

Female 17 Australia The walk for the evening vigil/sleep out for there to be a little bit more structured organisation with getting everyone into the area because I know I was sick for the whole duration of World Youth Day and with the crowd where everyone is packed like sardines together while everyone is trying to get in isn't exactly the most plesant thing,but overall apart from me being sick it was one of the best experiences of my life and I've talked to friends who went to WYD 08 and others who didn't and they really want to go to the next one coming up.

Male 20 Australia The volunteers all the staff (including those working for public transport), THANK-YOU!! My thoughts are with you! It would not have been poosible without your help and positive attitude. It definitely kept the nights going at the train station!

Female 57 United States The two items I would comment on would be, that pulling private booked busses for mass transit without letting group organizers know in advance was disheartening, plus we were not reimbursed appropriately for the money we lost. The suppers surved during WYD were too much of the same thing and really very spicey for most people...it was hot and filling, but there were some digestive repurcutions that we needed to deal with. But thank you for being so well organized with everything. God bless,

Female 18 Malaysia The travelling was a bit hard because the trains were packed. But it was fun too because everyone was merry =)

Female 30 Australia The travel arrangments were very poor- in particular the bus and luggage issue, it meant that the focus in the start was on the logistics rather than on the festival. Travelling with young people outside of family is already difficult this meant the experience was hard.

Information flow was very poor- we did not know accomodation until one week out. Again this would put me off taking a group again if this was the level of organisation. Food was very poor. We had to buy food elsewhere as our group could no longer stomach the food.

Female 18 Canada The travel arrangements amazed me and the food was definitely better than I was expecting it to be after hearing about what those in Toronto had to eat.

Male 20 Australia The travel and accommadation was very well organised. The quality of the food at events was poor.

Male 24 Singapore The transportation was was an issue, as being on the other side of Sydney made it harder to get to events on the other side of the harbour.

Female 60 New Zealand The transport was really good- getting onto buses etc with pases was excellent. Accomodation for my group was good but others had some difficulty being crwded with large numbers but it was not too bad.

Female 56 Australia The transport arrangements seemed very 'last minute'--particularly in relation to the transport of luggage. We lost our luggage for 36 hours yet could have kept it with us if the bus company had not unloaded it for spurious weight reasons. Bureaucracy seemed to get in the way.

Female 24 United States The tour for our group was well coordinated and there were few hitches. It was disappointing at the Stations of the Cross that we could not see any screen and could barely hear anything, until the dramatists arrived in our area, when we had a fairly good view. We sat and prayed on our own most of the time, and I think the frustration was good for us, but there were others nearby who found it very hard to concentrate and spent most of the Stations chatting. More screens if possible would have been helpful! Other than that, there is really nothing I would have changed. Thank you for helping create an amazing and grace-filled experience!

Female 17 United States The toilets kept breaking down during the overnight at Randwick.

Female 20 United States The toilets at Randwick were inadequate.

Female 27 New Zealand The tightness of the schedule and the long travel time to and back from the accomodation sometimes didn't allow much space for me to reflect on my faith. The massive scale of the masses and other events sometimes made it difficult to focus on what was happening in the centre stage. The theme was based on receiving the Holy Spirit, however,it was disappointing that there were not many programmes(as far as I know) which focused on the spiritual renewal itself for individuals, i.e. Charismatic prayers, healing mass etc.

Male 21 Philippines The temporalities of it was great. I was deeply amazed by how prepared the WYD is. There were some inconveniences but not too big to spoil the whole experience. Kudos to all the organizers! Hope to see you again in 2011 (or 2009 during the Asian Youth Day in the Philippines).

Female 58 Australia The Sydney police were wonderful and the logistics of moving people around were excellent. Registration was disappointing for the weekenders who arrived on the Saturday morning as many missed out on the English packs. Food distribution was poor and also the endless TUNA!!! Never want to eat the stuff again!!! Could have managed more variety in the food packs. There wasn’t any food left for breakfast on Sunday morning.

Male 41 United States The Sydney Organizing Team was excellent at logositical details - the flow of crowds, planning transportation, serving meals, etc. Registration process was very smooth. Overall, communication was difficult -- things written in the pilgrims handbook were not as they occurred (e.g. where meals were being served from one day to the next).

Female 43 Canada The supper food was terrible and the same thing every night!

Male 20 United Kingdom The stew that we got was too fatty

Male 45 Australia The Stations of the Cross and the statues of Jesus Walks were a very far way from Pope Benedict's approach to Catholic art and liturgy. They were simply out of touch with the Catholic faith and with the traditional devotion of the pilgrims. Also, the adoration and confessions could have been presented much better in the Exhibition Centre. There ought to be persons available to help people prepare to confession, and a more devotional adoration centre, with at least flowers, some sort of altar, maybe even kneelers.

Male 28 Ireland The software used for registering was very poor, speaking as a pilgrim and volunteer who used it daily. If registration is compulsory it should run smoothly and crystal clear to encourage people to complete it. Lots of people were discouraged from taking part in the whole week simply because the website was not simple or reliable enough when registering.

Male 38 United States The sense of direction and welcoming was incredible.

Female 41 Australia The security check for backstage people for youth events was a disaster. I sent 5 emails and photos for security clearance. The office was not manned properly queues for 5 hours waiting. It was ridiculous especially for pilgrims who had just been on long flights to have to queue. Also on Our proposal, we mentioned that we wanted to give out some free refreshments to pilgrims. ON the night. staff at Darling harbour forbade us to give out free water and Pilgrims were charged $2.90 per bottle . I would ;like to say that Jesus was forgotten by some WYd organisers who allowed and negotiated Darling Harbour to charge pilgrims top prices- it looked like money came first after all.

Male 21 Australia The rego process was difficult, confusing and the processing of payments inconstant.

Male 24 Australia The registration website needed to be more concise in helping the group leaders know how to complete registrations. Having the events programmed is good, and important but this is not where most people are able to grow in their faith. This happens in smaller groups and more intimate circumstances. Public transport was excellent. Food was a good attempt at feeding better than Cologne, but it was unhealthy (at dinner only, breakfast and lunch was good), but all produced too much waste, didn't save time and was overall bad for the environment. Toilets were pretty good and well maintained in the most part. Needed more signage and directions. Got lost too often. Our school was very accomodating and helpful helpers. There was too much order with seating and entry and exit gates at events. Too big a focus on checking bags which is a pointless exercise at WYD. Needed a central hangout hub in central Sydney away from all the events when everyone realised the concerts weren't heaps entertaining and wanted something else to go to. Well done Sydney, good job. Sydney was also a very small WYD and its success logistically was thanks to smaller numbers compared to other WYDays in other nations. But bigger is a better experience for participants I personally believe for a WYD experience.

Male 61 Papua New Guinea the registration was frustrating, but because our set up was not up to standard, so this should be considered, and for countries with little infrastructure, mail registration

could be possible. we at least were helped!! Then for priests, only 3 computers, we stood in line for over 8 hours, that was poor. Food distribution was good, also the transport facilities. All in all we had an unforgetable time.

Female 42 Australia The registration was a nightmare. Most of the information and rigmarole was not used and the site was dreadful. It took weeks for messages or email to be responded to. Harvest were a nightmare and completely ruined the transport from Victoria -(Sale Diocese). We should have just organised ourselves separately. I hope that registration for Madrid is better. It was stressful enough organising a group from Sale, but if I had of been bringing a group from overseas, it would have been dreadful.

Female 20 Australia The registration system was terrible! One that works effectively and effeciently needs to be used to make it easier for anyone to come to WYD so that people will not reconsider attending the event solely for the lack of organisation in this area. Accommodation allocation information - this needs to be made available earlier, however I belive this was due to the faults in the registration system! otherwise - the remainder was great!! THANK YOU!!

Female 32 Australia the registration system was terrible - very hard to get accurate information on payments and pilgrims in my group. Also finding out accommodation when you are on the way to WYD is much too late for group leaders and parents. if they church wants under-18's to experience WYD they have to provide details of accommodation etc much earlier so that parents can be reassured.

Female 26 Australia The registration section of the website definitely needs improving. However, i feel all other aspects ran fairly smoothly and the great success of the event are a testament to those involved!

Female 15 Australia The registration process wasn't organised very well at all.

Female 48 Australia The registration process was very long and laborious. It took hours! Hopefully it can be shortened and perfected for 2011.

Female 48 New Zealand The registration process was stressful in Sydney, especially when we were asked to split up and leave the leaders to register the group. We were a small group (myself, huband and two teenage children), so I had to take the children away in a strange city and fill in sometime, while my husband lined up for a couple of hours. In another instance, my friend who was travelling with her teenage daughter, it was impossible for her to split up from her daughter so to register. When we registered, there were no pilgrim bags available for us at the same venue. We eventually found the place where we were to pick up the bags, and they were not available for several hours, and even then they were not the correct ones for us. We missed out on Pilgrim travel guide books and the liturgy guide books. The merchandise sold out very quickly i.e. non-clothing items. I thought the food was good. The travel passes were a God send. It was generally well done. The people of Sydney were very good and tolerant of us all.

Female 34 Australia The registration process was quite difficult and chaotic. Communication was not clear. Public transports were excellent! Food was terrible (but who goes to WYD to have great food?) A part from that organisation in general was excellent! WYD volunteers did a great job and everything went smoothly thinking of size of the event.

Female 31 Australia The registration process was exceedingly difficult. While it did not destroy the experience, it almost meant that our pilgrim group were registered and going but none of the group leaders were issued tickets until the last minute.

Female 26 Australia The registration process was difficult to deal with, especially when payment was made by other than credit card. The release of information was on occasion slow and not filtering through to group leaders. The late release of itineraries was annoying as well as the collection of pilgrim backpacks only days before WYD. The food was poorly distributed and the long lines left people feeling frustrated and forced to buy food externally. The food could have used more variety. Having the same meals every day was not appealling.

Female 49 United States The registration process was difficult at times - the website had several 'bugs' that were never fixed - it was stressful and at times I wondered if we were actually registered. The bishops that we had for the 2 days that we went to catechesis were very inadequate both in their teaching and response to questions from the youth. Quite frankly, I wondered if they really believed what they were saying, because they were so unskilled at defending the faith. This was sad for me as a group leader and for our young people who recognized the problem. Young people (really ALL people) want and deserve the truth, explained to them in a way that they can comprehend. We got that when we went to hear Christopher West.

Male 60 Australia The registration process was chaotic. Communication of information was largely one-way -- from WYD people to coordinators at parish and other levels. The sent plenty out but to question anyone on content or meaning was like trying to make a complaint to a Telcom, or Bank etc. The Homestay program was an exception. Caroline and her people were very helpful.

Female 49 Australia The registration process was a nightmare and took a long time to get everyone in. Anyone I knew had a lot of difficulty registering and paying. The volunteers on the helpline, bless their souls, usually knew less than I did when I asked a question. All the way along even though I went to the information sessions in the diocese it was difficult to get a handle on the various packages, who could go, where to get backpacks and tickets, and what the actual experience would be like. That said, it is a major low cost, volunteer led venture and there was something miraculous about how it all comes together.

Female 22 Australia The registration process was a mess! As a volunteer I didn't know what I was doing until the Sunday before World Youth Day started and was unable to process my time and see if I could make to other events. It was very frustrating.

Male 21 Australia The registration process was a little bit 'buggy', and the payment process did not seem smooth and secure. For a WYD website that was meant to be accessed by many around the world, including those who have not had regular use of computers in third world countries... it seemed quite user-unfriendly and complicated. Sorry!

Female 32 Australia The registration process should be better organised as well as the flights to WYD. All the very best.

Female 35 Australia The registration process online was shocking, and then having incorrect passes was a nightmare, not just for me but for most of the groups that stayed at Engadine and explaining to people how to get to Chippendale was a lost cause. The delivery of food to the schools was in excess of what was actually used. To have better meals available especially the dinner ones so people got sick from them and they didn't look to good. Having more snacks would also be a good thing.

Female 59 Australia The registration process needs attention. Can't comment on other items. Just to say it was wonderful to be there with everyone. it was a massive task for the organizers to

do...for me it all went according to plans that's from an observers point of view. If there were hiccups the ordinary person didn't experience too much of it.

Male 27 Australia The registration process and communication of information was very lacking. My group found out two days before world youth day began, that our registraion was not complete; and we were not given a catechesis venue. (We did however find one to attend). We were also led to beleive (by WYD personnel) that our 1year old daughter had to be a fully registered paying pilgrim - which was not the case. I was also concerned that the number to call during WYD events for help/information was often not answered when it was supposed to be a 24hr service. Overall, communication before and during WYD was very badly organised, but the WYD experience was still an excellent one.

Female 25 United States The registration process (Egeria) was efficient but I never figured out how to pay and register as an individual pilrim and ended up not paying for anything and just walking in to the events, which was great. However, I did spend countless hours calling hotlines in Sydney to inquire about tickets, I sent emails that were never replied to, and had a lot of difficulty getting transportation to Sydney, even through the Catholic University in Melbourne. THe facilities and directions in Sydney were great, volunteers very helpful, and transportation around sydney was well above what was expected. I was impressed with the food and merchandise.

Female 61 Australia The registration process - that is getting the accreditation packs - in Sydney was a bit of a nightmare. Can't understand why something as fundamental as that was so disorganised when so much else was very well organised.

Female 26 Singapore The registration portal was not very user-friendly. The form validations were not clear, and the payment part especially was not properly programmed. I didn't know if my payment was accepted or not! Some usability testing might have helped. But my emails to the WYD team were always replied promptly, so that helped a bunch. Communication of information about where we'd be staying also came in too late. I had already arranged for our group's own accommodations but still received an email from a school that was supposed to host us, after I arrived in Australia for our pre-WYD preogram. I'm not sure how the mix up happened, but I had to email the school to let them know we were putting up elsewhere. I hope it didn't cause them an inconvenience!

Male 49 Gibraltar the registration office in sydney needed to have been bigger and more central. As we spend lots of time there. The same with the registration for helpers.

Female 20 Germany The registration in internet was quite difficult as beong not a native english speaker. For WYD in Spain I wish to have the registration-website in at least 4 languages: English, spanish, frensh and german.

Male 37 India the registration for the priest can be better organized.

Male 23 Indonesia The registration event was very late, because when we registered, the reply from WYD team was so late for us and also the communication of information not really clear.

Male 39 Australia The registration and payment system was absolutely horrid, in case you have not already received this message, which I doubt. The promotional material and pilgrim preparation material was poorly targeted and seemed to have been written by someone with little experience of reaching out to young people, especially those disengaged from the church. Communications was pretty atrocious as anyone who had to sit on a phone for hours on end could attest. Overall the

experience once we got there was great although some of the liturgy content was totally not aimed at your average young person, in fact quite overly formal and disengaging at times.

Female 47 United States The registration and communication of information was not handled in a way that we knew what was going on before we arrived. The accomodation were difficult because they were so far away from the main section. Our time traveling back and forth was too much.

Female 37 Australia The registering was difficult. Queries took too long to be replied to such as several weeks. The concert at Barangaroo was not organised well and no assistance except for a first aid tent when my son sprained his ankle bad. The walk with an injured child to Randwick was very very hard and no one to assist us and no one stopped to assist us. I stayed in a hotel, but the members of my diocese stayed in very poor accommodation at the showground and some got sick from having to sleep on hard cold floors and I think that was terrible.

Female 57 Australia The Qantas debarkle proved to be very difficult for our pilgrims, being held up for 32 hours in the airport caused much stain on them and their companions. The assitance of the railway staff and the volunteers was remarkable and ensured our movement to each venue was as painless as possible.We kept in mind we were pilgrims! It would have been better if there was more communication between the transport the state government had supplied (which we discovered along the way) and the WYD office. The Knights of Malta were wonderful at the Final Mass and their assitance in many ways was a God send.

Male 17 Australia The Programing of Events was well done. The Registration process was good especially doing it online. Communication of information was presented well. Had a great idea of all the events that were occurring in and around Sydney. Travel and Transport system was good. Trains that I travelled on were all on time. Only problem was buses were crowded alot. I felt just some more buses should have been provided. Food needs improvement. Next time provide more cusine of the country that is hosting the event, not provide food like potato/meat curries. Facilities were good and clean. For Madrid 2011, I would suggest to do all the good things that Sydney provided for 2008 and only improve the quality of the food. Provide food for the pilgrims of more of that country's cusine (Madrid-Spain-Spanish). Overall, still a fantastic experience that I will always remember.

Female 22 Australia the program of the event is really organised and praper for the young people, I like it and the all young people around the world like it too this experince of WYD every once a year in a life time. but we looking for some chancess to go for WYD in Medride next 2011, and thanks to all of you.

Female 22 New Zealand The program of events were very good. I wish I didn't miss so much because of problems getting to the venues because of barricades in the streets. The registration process was alright except my need for an ETA was overlooked in the processing of my registration, as I am a New Zealand resident holding a passport of a different country. Getting the ETA in time was a bit of a worry. Travel in Sydney, food and accommodation was good. One night in the city, there was difficulty in getting a meal from some catering sites because they ran out of food. I realise though that it is unpredictable as to how many people will be in certain areas of the city.

Female 23 Australia The program of events should have been made avilable sooner and many more printed copies were needed. Egeria caused a lot of problems for our group, as did being forced to make travel arrangements through the Victorian state-wide system. A lot more food was needed for vigil at Randwick as most of the boys in my group were starving, but the distribution was very well handled. Toilets were very well set up.

Male 30 Australia the program of events from St Vincent De Paul Society

Female 33 Australia The process for clergy receiving accreditation was a mess! My PP had registered online for accreditation and sent photo in as well yet when we got to Sydney there was no organisation at all in this area he had to queue for hours after a detour to our State office who sent us to the wrong place - it was another priest known to him that sent us in the right direction. After waiting for hours our PP had to have his photo taken again as there was no sign of his accreditation paperwork - a big disappointment. This needs to be addressed for Madrid

Female 22 Australia The priests we were travelling with found it very difficult to be able to register to be part of masses, I don't think this should have been the case.

Male 25 Australia The plethora of activities during the youth festival was a real highlight and I could only recommend that it be expanded. I feel I would like to heavil criticize the WYD organisers in theor almost total lack of 'Secular' advertising. Many issues were made about some school students not coming to WYD. i believe that if a all-encompassing national media campaign was launched, it would have garuanteed an even larger number of Australian attendees, both Catholic and non-catholic (catholics watch TV more than they liten to Sermons or RE teachers let alone non church goers).

Female 54 Australia The planing and organisation should start early. There was some trouble in collecting the pilgrim passes and backpack. The WYD venue should be informed to the pilgrims at least one week prior to the formal opening.

Female 43 Philippines The place where we were staying in Sydney was very far from the venues of the activities of the World Youth Day. We had to take the bus and the train everyday to get there.

Male 51 Australia The pilgrim/volunteer registration process was a shambles. There should have been people with the major languages outside who could coordinate group leaders and then once inside some more peole with the necessary languages there for those groups including English speaking. Voulnteers had all their information lost or were assigned to different areas contary to what they had already received. Scope has to be given to those who have skills that aren't from the host city and utilize those skills better rather than having some people in authority just because they are from the host city.

Female 58 Australia The people working at WYD were WONDERFUL - without their cheerful patience and good humour the registration process in particular would have been a disaster. I was unable to get ANY of the meals I was registered to receive, except for on the walk and at Randwick, because of the requirement to be in groups of 6 and the long queues - it just was not possible while I was working at the Vocations Expo. The free public transport and very efficient train service was MAGNIFICENT. We arranged our own transport to and from Sydney and accommodation in Sydney.

Female 57 Canada the passing out of communion was much better organied at the final Mass than at the opening Mass. At the opening Mass was a bit chaotic

Female 32 Ireland The parish i joined with in Manly told me i could go to the stations of the cross on the friday. When i meet up with them that morning i was told there were no tickets and i was very disappointed with this. I was really looking forward to doing the stations of the cross.

Female 17 Philippines The organizers of WYD 2008 did a really great job! It was really organized!

Female 27 Canada The organization was very well done this year. At the large events there was no worry of losing people, no reports about people being injured due to crowds. The city also seemed very well prepared- extra busses/signs around and the centralized location of everything was also very nice.

Male 27 United States The organization was great. The events ran smoothly, the food was good and easy to acquire. The flush toilets were excellent. The layout of the youth festival leaflet was not good. Maybe a booklet would have been better.

Female 23 New Zealand The organization was great- some of the roads blocked for pilgrims; the law not to tease pilgrims; the parishes that opened their doors for us; the food. heard about the toilets run out of water at the Vigil at Randwick. I was there but the water didn't run out during when I used it. It would've been sad for others who experienced that i suppose. However, the good thing was once we woke up- it was all filled up again. Thank you for that. The food though run out on one of the places- i expected though as they cater to many people who come. it would be sad if some didn't have any money for them to eat then as they expected the catering.

Male 34 Tanzania The organization was good, food was fantastic though a challenge to those who are coming from other cultures who don't use the packed food. The accommodation,communication,transport and facilities were very good.Keep it up and congratulation, well done.God bless you.

Male 19 Canada The organization was extremely well done

Male 29 Canada The organization was amazing. I have been to WYD 2002 in Toronto, 2005 in Germany, and now Sydney. Great city people. I loved the Dominican event at the University. Catechesis was great, and adoration was great. 24 hour adoration would have been better! Thank you for all your hard work.

Female 30 Canada The organization of WYD was wonderful. WYD 2008 was my 3rd WYD. My experience in Germany was not good. It was poorly organized and one of the most difficult aspects of our pilgrimage. There were a lot of volunteers who were available for help and even if they didn't know the answer, they would try to help as much as possible. The signs up around the city also helped with trying to navigate through locations, such as Hyde Park. Made our stay and traveling around the city run smoothly.

Female 18 Canada The organization of wyd was much better than in previous years! I'd have to say for next year, it would be nice to know exactly where you are homestaying for days of the diocese and to have that organized before arriving in a foreign country. It makes for a lot less stress. The events were lots of fun, although it would have been nice to have events run multiple times so that you could have the chance to go see them. In the field at Randwick, I was really impressed with the bathrooms (although they did run out of water near the end... eww). In the field at Randwick, there needed to be more space to sleep. You were seriously sleeping next to someone you may never have met before and it was a little awkward. I loved Australia's Government and how they put in a fine for anyone trying to harrass pilgrims. It was really nice, and made me feel safe and welcome. I also loved how easy it was to get a visa. Overall, I was impressed. Congratulations!

Female 27 Singapore the organization of WYD SYD was superb, kudos to the various entities who made the experience wonderful. The accommodations, transportations, & the special arrangements made for pilgrims really helped us. I hope Madrid will be the same or even better =)

Female 40 United States The organization of WYD in Sydney was very organized. This was my first WYD experience, so I can not compare this experience to any other WYD. The volunteers were a big help in the subway, bus stops, the entrance to Barangaroo, catechesis, and walking to Randwick really helped pilgrims to get around. The registration process and obtaining the visa was not very hard. It was extremely practical and easy. I think the internet is a big help. I think that the food should be a bit more appetizing. I saw a lot of waste of food in the trash cans. I think sandwiches, burgers, pizza and fried chicken or chicken nuggets would be a better choice for kids. I am a fifth grade teacher and believe me when I say that kids and teens prefer these foods. ORGANIZERS OF WYD IN SYDNEY, I COMMEND YOU....YOU DID AN EXCELLENT JOB!!!!!

Male 18 Australia The organization of the the entire week was fantastic and flawless. It was worth every dollar spent, and i hope that again one day, Australia will host the event! I offer my sincerest gratitude and thanks to all organizers! Can the walk to the final mass not be so long!! (LOL XD)

Female 39 United States The organization of the events & the number of helpful volunteers was wonderful. The group would have liked a bit more variety in the food offering. Online registration of groups could have been a bit easier.

Female 25 Malta The organising committee were amazing. they were always willing to help out either in directions or with a smile as we walked through the busy sydney streets. It was well organised since all were well informed. Transport system was excellent. Thankyou for making this experience a memorable one and one to pass on/ suggest to future generations :o)

Male 25 Australia The organisers/representatives of each ethnic community groups should organise some events in which the youth of that particular group will have more time together and share their living experience as well as significant things to their lives. As Vietnamese youth, we come from all over the world due to the historical effect(s) of Vietnam wars, WYD would be the perfect time for we all to gathering and having some reflections together.

Male 61 The organisers did not expect as many 'oldies' who turned up.Consequently we had trouble getting around (the students walked everywhere ,but we could not. but there were buses to the venues,but we had couple of marathon walks after being dropped off A guide with local knowledge would suffice

Male 17 Australia the organisaton was very good. food worked well. trnasport was adequate. thanks very much

Male 59 Australia The organisation worked out in the end, even though it was stressful. However, when I spoke to people about going to WYD, the cost of registration was an issue, unless they were completely committed to WYD. I felt that we did not include enough people who were not certain about their faith. I think the parish should have started much earlier with fundraising. This would have involved the people in the parish, and it would have allowed the parish to sponsor overseas pilgrims and pilgrims from the parish.

Female 21 Singapore The organisation was wonderful. Amazing how such a large-scale event could still touch each and every pilgrim so personally. I was fortunate enough to have a homestay with a young family in Sydney. I'm very grateful to them for being so accomodating. However, I felt a little restricted at times because I couldn't stay back for the late-night events as I did not want to inconvenience my host family.

Male 18 Germany The organisation was very well! Especially the many WC´s on Randwick.In Cologne there were less WC´s and it was very bad!Furthermore the pilgrims mostly did not have to wait very long to get food, or to get in to any event. Sorry for my bad language!I´m really giving my best right now:-)!

Female 17 Australia The organisation was very good, there was plenty of information given to us beforehand on the structure of the week, locations, facilities etc. The food was not that good, but considering they were feeding hundreds of thousands of people, it was fine. Travel arrangments all went well, being able to use our pilgrim passes on the trains made it all ok. I didnt need accomodation, but from what i heard it was all good, and having a majority of pilgrims stay at schools was a good idea.

Female 49 South Africa The organisation was outstanding in all departments. Thank you for taking such good care of us. We couldn't have been treated better.

Male 34 Australia The organisation was nothing short of appalling. The online registration was disasterous, and only the organisers of the two or three larger dioceses were given the appropriate level of access. In the Bathurst Diocese where around 1500 international pilgrims were hosted for Days in the Diocese and about 200 locals attended in Sydney the time my wife (the organiser) and therefore myself spent on that stupid program was beyond belief, and not through any lack of IT competency at our end. The promises made by the Sydney WYD office regarding how things would be adminsitered were not kept, the promises to the National Vision committee regarding not using Companies like Coca-Cola were not kept, the lack of food venues around Hyde Park left many people hungry (actually I just chalked that one down as a pilgrim experience but hey a bit of forethought...). In short this aspect of the event was a serious issue that left many dedicated people in the Australian church with a very bitter taste in their mouths.

Female 16 Australia The organisation was not done very well, we only got our packs after being there fore 4 days. However, the accomodation and food was ok. I didn't really expect 5 star hotels or gourmet food anyway, although people in my group complained. The program was good.

Female 26 Australia The organisation was great. I was really impressed! The only suggestion I would make is that sometimes it seemed that crowds were being unnecessarily channelled along discrete routes which created a sense of claustrophobia that some people in my group found difficult to deal with.

Female 18 Australia The organisation was great. I don't think the transport could have been any better - I was never waiting for any form of transport. The security was great, the locations of events, the food.... everything was great. It made the experience that much better.

Female 17 Australia The organisation was great, the food packs i received and the crowd and venue control was all great, no complaints.

Female 19 Australia The organisation was great, thank you to the voluteers. I hope the organizers of Madrid realize that the young people are changing, we are tired of plain and simple, the 'feel good' approach. We want depth and meaning, art, beauty, and true spirituality. I found this in Sydney - I pray there will be more in Madrid. God bless and Thank you.

Female 28 Philippines The organisation was great!But the food that was given to us were not really likeable,my suggestion is they should distributed more breads and fruits as well as water and some coffee stand mostly in the corner just to keep the youth alive during the vigil and also there

should be someone facilitating on stage just to let the youth socialize with other nationalities and during the vigil i was touched when i attended the adoration place early in the morning and it was also a great time talking with God and felt his presence..But inspite of that my experienced wasn't affected with some inconveniences it was still a great experienced ever in my entire spiritual and personal life!!To the staff..Great Job! and More Power!!!

Female 20 New Zealand The organisation was great! no complaints! was organied very well!

Male 20 Austria The organisation was great!

Female 23 New Zealand The organisation was great very well done.

Male 27 Australia The organisation was good, certainly better than some of the negative criticism described it. I loved it, I had no problems with it, and all the volunteers, bus drivers, city rail staff, everyone we came into contact with, were so encouraging and caught up in the spirit of WYD.

Male 17 Australia The Organisation was brilliant. Well done to all the volunteers who helped out.

Male 28 Australia The organisation was brilliant. I was at Cologne and Rome and this was on par with those. The centralised location is a better model than Germany's distributed system. However, it only worked because there were fewer people at this world youth day. Rome had too many and it clogged the transport. I didn't enjoy the queues for getting my groups packs, but that is life. I didn't enjoy the wait for getting our volunteers packs, and the organisation for that could have been better. Alls well that ends well though. I would personally that Bernard (i think was his name) who trained the sacristans - he was professional and knowlegable.

Female 29 New Zealand The organisation was above average. I thought there would be lots of queeing and cold showers but, this was not so. However, the communication of information needs to be improved. On a few occassion, I was a bit lost as to what it happening. Also, heating in accommodation would be better but, not necessary.

Female 30 Australia The organisation seemed to be trying to do a lot with a small amount of resources, therefore things were not done as efficiently as they could have been, in the lead up to WYD. However for people who just attended, it was well organised, with transport, food, volunteers etc. When the event was actually on it ran well.

Female 30 Australia The organisation seemed messy up until we arrived Sydney. Eg a lot of info about the program and accomodation was not available until quite late, collecting our packs on the day before the official start was messy (we had own accommodation in the city and someone had to travel a bit to collect all the packs, water bottles etc for everyone, which was a bigger job than expected). There were some last minute changes to program venues but I think they were only communicated online. However, given most people didn't have internet access and were out and about most of the day, this caused some inconvenience and disappointments. I really enjoyed the food! Given the magnitude of people, I think you did a great job in feeding everyone!

Female 23 Australia The organisation overall was FANTASTIC. The only place it fell down was in designating places of accommodation SO FAR AWAY from the city and catechesis venues. My group was staying in a school in Quakers Hill (end of the trainline) and attending catechisis in Baulkham Hills (very difficult to get to by public transport) which meant VERY LATE nights and VERY EARLY mornings. Upside - lots of funny photos of pilgrims sleeping on trains!

Female 17 Australia the organisation of WYD in Sydney was amazing everything was under control and managed in a way the pilgrims enjoyed the atmosphere, environment and the lovely surroundings of Sydney.

Male 57 New Zealand The organisation of WYD 2008 was supreme. The Aussies did it so well. They must be congratulated. The coppers (NSW Police) were brilliant. Serious about their task, but delightful in all exchanges. The dunny failed at Randwick, chaos everywhere when toilets fail. But it was promptly fixed, even tho it was in the middle of the night. The meal packs were sometimes skimpy, but pretty darn good. The Catechesis was awesome, especially at Chatswood, with a local priest who was alive in the spirit, and led from the heart.

Male 29 Germany The organisation of WYD 2008 had been really great. The parish where we have stayed during WYD and the days of the diocese have done a great job. The most difficult part was the booking of the flights. Unfortunately the airlines have not been really cooperative. The only thing that was a bit difficult for us was, that we did not know where we will stay in Sydney when we left Germany. Maybe for next WYD 2011 it is possible to tell the pilgrims earlier where they will stay. I know that this is a really difficult and hard job and I am sure that all of you have done their best. God bless and best regards

Male 61 Canada The organisation of World Youth Day 2008 was awesome, to say the least. Ocasionally there were glitches that slowed things down a bit, but in the spirit of WYD08 these were taken as they came. Fantastic event!!!!

Female 20 Australia the organisation of the pilgram passes and the animating team passes were farely poorly done. We were told that the animating team needed passes and went through all the processes to get them and never recieved them and after lining up expecting to get them were told that they didnt have them and we wouldnt really need then.

Female 18 Australia The organisation of the event was absolutely fantastic. Credits to the organisation team. thumbs Up !!!!

Female 25 Ireland The organisation of the event in Sydney was excellent. The city and people were very well prepared and it helped to make the event even more enjoyable. From food to toiletry facilities, everything seemed to be run exceptionally well

Female 48 Australia The organisation of our travel to Sydney was pretty bad. We had several cahnges of departure time, we left late and our luggage didn't arrive until 26 hours after we did. We spent a very cold, uncomfortable night waiting for sleeping bags and a change of clothes. We also experienced difficulty with ill members of our party. On the night of the Vigil, there was simply nowhere for someone who was not well to go - one of our group had an asthma attak, was taken to hospital, but not admitted after treatment. He couldn't possibly have spent the night outside, but all schools etc. were shut as everyone was at Randwick - we ended up with him at a hotel near the airport with a group leader. Definitely NOT an ideal situation.

Male 40 Nigeria THE ORGANISATION IS A WORTHY ONE THAT UNITES YOUTH OF THE WORLD THEY SHOULD KEEP IT UP GOD WILL SURLY BLESS THEM

Male 24 United Kingdom The organisation in Sydney was impressive

Male 54 Australia The organisation for the collection of pilgrim passes at Grosvenor St on the first Monday was abysmal, with way too few resources to cope with the numbers of groups, pilgrims, volunteers & religious. Some people had to spend a couple of days just to collect passes,

with most caught up for at least one day - not a good look, and certainly not the way one would ideally want to be their first impression of WYD. Thankfully the rest of my WYD experience was considerably better than the first contact.

Female 21 Singapore The opening mass night was probably the most chaotic. Especially after the opening mass where many were trying to obtain food. It took a long time for the food to be ready. However, this improved over the next few days of WYD. It would be great if there was more variety to the food. Some of the people do not really enjoy mutton or beef so in the end, many chose not to eat the food that was given. Also, lunch could be better. Instead of giving unhealthy items such as chips and chocolates, it would be better to have proper meals or sandwiches.

Female 23 Australia the only unorganised part of WYD08 was the packages. my group were unable to recieve the package before WYD unless we actually travelled to sydney, a bit dissapointing as we wanted to read and check out everything before going to make sure we make the most of it. having said that, we still had a fantastic time and enjoyed every bit of it. thank you everyone for organising it and god bless :)

Female 19 United States The only time I noticed a little disorganization was at the opening mass when there was the human traffic jam, but I must admit that we did end up having a good time waiting anyways.

Female 24 Australia the only thing that needed to be better organised or controlled was the food situation, there were no lines, just crowds of pushing people

Male 21 Australia The only thing that has frustrated me has been the sections in these surveys where you can only pick 3/8 or you have to number them 1-5 and we're given 7 options

Female 60 United States The only thing I would change would be registration. It was very hard to register for some reason. Oh, yes, I would also like to order WYD items after I get home. Some of the things I wanted very badly but didn't see them or couldn't find them so I had to do without. If I could have ordered them on line when I returned it would have been great! Now I am still trying to get the bracelet that adds the charms to. Do you know where I can get one?

Male 25 United States The ONLY thing I didn't like about the organization of WYD was when we arrived to Randwick, there were NO people giving directions to where our section was, or guidance. It would have been useful to have all those volunteers at Randwick directing people. Also for Madrid, there were people who brought tents to sleep in at Randwick. This took up a lot of the space and they got a much larger portion of space then everyone else. Tents should be banned.

Female 42 United States The only suggestion here is to make sure that the food that is given is nutritional. For many of us, being in a long way from home was stressful enough, but having food that did not agree with our stomachs was difficult. There was an excess of bread and sweets, and not enough fruit and protein. I realize that preparing meals for so many people is an immense challenge, and I applaud the efforts! The first meal of Shepherd's pie was great...but the cans of tuna and beans were not enough to keep us going during the day.

Male 30 Canada The only snag we hit was getting accrediation for the priest travelling with our group. Although it was a problem you should probably know we were issued two sets of food and transportation passes. One at the DID (Canberra) and one when we checked in in Sydney.

Male 31 Singapore The only problem was the massive holdup for food at Opening Mass, where one had to wait for almost half an hr at the front of the queue for the food to be heated up when he

reached there. That compounds the waiting time which means each person had to spend hours in the queue just to get food. Perhaps the food shld be microwaved just b4 end of the Mass so that it can be distributed immediately. Also, during final Mass, some ppl don't follow the rules for going to their designated area, thus making some areas overcrowded, it's especially frustrating for ppl who have designated passes but have to squeeze with ppl who don't. The problem was compounded when moreppl started arriving in the morning to squeeze with pple who were already there overnight. This rule shld be enforced strictly in future WYDs. Thanks for the fantastic merchandising! I love all the stuff I got! Accomodation was great for us at Magis at St Ignatius College, good to have a direct bus to the city too! Thanks for the pilgrim pass which enabled free public transport everywhere in the city!

Female 19 Australia The only problem was the disorganisation of the luggage; the fact that they arrived 24hours after we did was a little frustrating. Also, a Canadian group staying at my parish wasn't on the list for the bus ride up to Sydney. I was a volunteer for DID08 in Melbourne and there was a definite lack of organisation in that too. But other than that, it was an awesome experience. More concerts and opportunities to meet people from around the world in Madrid '11 would be great! :)

Female 21 Philippines The only problem I had with my WYD experience was the food. I do not like the food. I came from the Philippines wherein rice is a staple food. Although I was able to manage not to eat rice, I still do not like the viand.

Male 25 United States The only problem I had was after leaving the closing mass all the people were funneled one direction, but I had to get in the opposite direction and they would not let me go that way. I understood why they did this, in order to control the crowd of thousands, it was just very inconvenient for me and my group. However this was probably the most organized WYD event I had been to. I have been to Rome, Toronto, and Cologne. Sydney was an amazing trip, I did not have enough time to do everything I wanted. I felt horrible because my group skipped Catechesis on more than 1 occasion so that we would have time to go to other events.

Female 19 United States The only place I felt there wasn't as much organization, or where it was a bit of limbo was just coming out of the airport. I felt like the transportation system wasn't ready for us, and it was hard to figure out where and how to get places. Otherwise, for most of WYD itself, it was great. I think we could have used a few more camera screens to see the Vigil and Final Mass at Randwick...it was hard to see the screen closest to us, because it was rather far. Thanks again, though, for all the time, effort, and prayer you put into this! :D

Male 16 New Zealand The only major issue I had was the food. And this isn't just my problem. Our group agreed as a whole that the food was disgraceful. The Australians did a fantastic job in everything except for the food. It made me physically sick to even consider the curry stuff after that first night. I hope that I never see that stuff ever again.

Male 16 United States The only issue i may have with WYD'drid(WYD Madrid) 2011 is that i may not be able to attend since many US colleges begin around that time, making it challenging to go.

Female 23 United States The only comments that I have are concerning the food. It is hard sometimes to get food for groups smaller than 6. I have attended WYD twice and only with 1 or 2 other pilgrims. Perhaps there can be 2 ways to distribute food: 1 line for major groups that can easily divide themselves into groups of 6, and then another line for groups that have less than 6. That's just a suggestion. Thank you.

Female 21 United States The only comment I have about the organisation of World Youth Day is the location for individuals to pick up their World Youth Day backpacks. It was very far off the main areas of the events and was not easy to find. I would have liked to see the final parts of the registration in a more central location, if it was possible. Thank you for all the work you have done for World Youth Day!

Female 60 Australia The online registration was not clear (and I teach IT). Don't look at the screens from what you (the organisers) need to know but as a naive would be participant. The picking up of bags etc at Grafton Street was ridiculous - needed a bigger, more organised venue

Male 45 United Kingdom The online registration was a little cumbersome & could have been easier. Public transport was excellent. i would have liked more information about the propgram (where & when things were happening) before i travelled - this was possibily my fault for not looking hard enough.

Female 38 Australia The online registration was a little confussing, the food was good and the program of events was good and gave alot of options to choose from.

Female 22 Australia The online registration system was a nightmare and I regularly encountered problems. I very rarely recieved answers to my questions about my problems with the registration system. Everything else, the transprot, meals, etc. in Sydney were very well organised and I was very impressed. Our billeting school was great and our entire group felt safe and well cared for. The volunteers were generally well informed and very helpful

Female 30 Australia The online registration process was flawed, but the idea was great. I hope it can be perfected by Madrid 2011. PLEASE consider that people you did not expect will be coming - we had people coming from countries that were not on the Visa application list. That made the visa process VERY complicated.

Female 47 Australia The online registration process fell down badly at times - would not encourage individuals registering online - keep it for leaders only so there is no confusion if the system goes down as to who had made payments etc. Registration problems resulting in leaders having to queue in Sydney to sort things out, resulting in missing some events etc. The 'queuing system' could have introduced a priority system according to the type of problem, and who had been 'officially'(by WYD) sent to the line -last minute registrations should not have been in the same queues as those who had online group registered but had to queue as a result of 'official' failings.

Female 56 Australia The one and only thing that needs to be looked at is that young pwople are hungry all the time and need to be fed more substantial meals even if once a day.The weather was so cold and most of them needed to have hot food.There should be at least hot drinks/cocoa/coffee/tea and hot meals rather than the canned food and poppers they recieved in Sydney.The volunteers recieved better food than the pilgrims who paid more to be there.

Female 21 Australia The Negative Stuff: I found the registration process to be difficult as I was registering as an individual and not in a group. Food stands and waiting lines were too long and inconvenient (but I was usually with someone so it wasn't so bad). I thought the events and planning for WYD was left too late and it made things difficult to arrange. (I didn't know what would be happening until the week). Information (what's happening, when - specific times, where, how to get to those locations, what does this event involve?) was difficult to obtain before the event. I only found out when I went into the city at the beginning of the week. The WYD website was difficult to navigate. The website had lots of information, but none of it was specfic (just

general information). The website also took a long time to load due to all the java and graphics, so it was also time consuming. The whole thing seems very disorganised. Also, the toliets were pretty awful (but I guess that is expected). The Positive Stuff: The people (pilgrams, volunteers and people of sydney) were very friendly. I found the overseas pilgrams to be so thankful and lovely. It was a pleasure to have them come to my local community. Once events were started, they were lots of fun and the atmosphere was great. Everyone was very friendly, appreicative and happy to be there. I also liked the way local communities in Sydney had the opportunity to come together to help out the pilgrams (eg: arranging breakfast, providing extra clothing to those who didn't bring warm clothes, Homestay). I thought the travel arrangements were good (with exception to the trains). I really found the religous events to be the best - listening to the Pope Benedict, the stations of the cross, prayer sessions, catechesis, etc.

Male 19 Ireland the most thing i didn't like about wyd was the hot food we got as part of our groups. it was horrible. the public transport was brilliant. it worked so well. a credit to the organisers.

Female 39 Australia The most significant thing for us was that as there were only 3 of us attending from our parish, all in different groups, we were allocated completely different locations at events. So while within a crowd of thousands, we felt that we attended alone, and made no connections at all with other parishioners from our diocese. As I think this was a valuable part of such an event, it did take the shine off a little.

Female 17 Australia The most difficult thing about the organisation of World Youth Day was the fact that there were so many activities to do but hard to organise which ones to go to and certain events only had a limited number of people which made it hard to find something definite to do during World Youth Day.

Female 18 United Kingdom The medical services were really well organised. Myself and a friend both had to be taken to a hospital on seperate occasions and we were both well looked after and dealt with quickly.

Male 27 Kenya The meals were great and the setting was really wonderful especially on transport after every activity with all pilgrims. Had good parcels(backpacks)only that the colors were too common almost everything had them on,-Madrid have some unique color other than the ones in the WYD logo

Female 18 Australia The meals seemed to be the same everyday. A change would be nice.

Female 25 New Zealand The meal tickets were a good idea.

Female 18 Australia The Masses need to be more youth orientated - at WYD08 the Masses were too old fashioned in regard to Music - not young enough

Female 60 Australia The Major Eucharists had very little to engage young people. They were more like performances of classical music with a whole lot of aging clerical males quite out of touch with the 400 000 amonst whom they were gathered.

Female 57 Australia The lunches when we could find them were okay. The dinners when we got them were awful- unpalatable. Long, disorganised queues, luke warm food or no food after a long wait provided us with some problems. We never received some items which were supposed to be in back packs such as WYD rosaries!

Male 42 Australia The luggage was a disaster. We had a kid in our group without his bags for three days. We had to go and spend money to buy him some new clothes. It isn't good enough to just have a tone of saying 'lets offer it up' - that just didn't cut. Positive - the transport was awaesome. Spiritually... I'm a bit mind, body, spirit - just loved the walking! Why am I not recommending WYD Madrid to anyone? - too expensive for something that, to link to the gospel image, is seeds that land on unfertile ground. I reckon the high just withers up and dies. I think too that the Church did a stitch on not looking into the big questions that most kids are asking... environment,sex and sexuality and social justice. The whole thing was too slanted towards right wing devotionalism... the chatechisis dialogues were not genuine. That said however, I thought Benedeto was star... his body languauge, his speeches were inclusive, humble and inspiring.

Female 48 Ireland The logistical organisation in Sydney was amazing! It made life very easy for group leaders, in terms of finding our way around, taking part in events, using public transport etc. Communication of information was excellent, ant volunteers /staff/online services were efficient, polite, helpful and pilgrim focused. Facilities in Randwick were excellent, particularly the bathrooms!!! Thank you to all concerned

Male 20 United States The little things go a long way for pilgrims like myself as well as others. Efficiency in food lines and bathroom lines really helps cut 'wasted' time out of a person's day. The more locations with adoration, confessions and talks, the more opportunities for grace. We must remember to allow Christ and the Holy Spirit work in us at WYD, and provide ample opportunities to do so. Praying for the success of future World Youth Days is also of the utmost importance.

Female 20 United States The lines for food were also pretty ridiculous. For dinner one night there was one person manning the entire food station (that's like 20 microwaves plus the other aspects of food) and I after waiting in line for an hour and a half and not moving I had to duck under the table and make the food for my group. I was pretty disappointed in that.

Male 19 Australia The lines for food were a little long, but it was actually a good thing, because it gave us time to just have a conversation while waiting, or simply take a breather.

Female 18 Philippines The line was not fixed. Things were hard to get especially the food. The food wasn't that good. The portable bathrooms weren't well maintained. It kept getting clogged.

Male 39 Australia The last minute information, impossible registration process & red tape nearly sabotaged the experience for many leaders busting our guts to bring our teams to serve - then when we got there it all went out the window. Man it would have been great to have been saved the emotional drain

Female 33 Australia The information that was given to volunteers was really poor and looked like improvised. Some days we had nothing to do, and nobody said us nothing as well. Only the last day they gave us maps to help us to give directions to pilgrims. I should be improved.

Female 21 Germany The info of being a volunteer was very late, especially for booking a flight from Germany to Australia.

Female 38 New Zealand The host families are absolutely fantastic, no problems with flights, buses or any other transport, the food was good, there were no lack of helpers/volunteers around the streets of Sydney in case we needed anything. The whole event was very well organised, the Holy spirit truely was upon everyone who helped in the organisation of such a mammoth event.

Female 47 United States The handling of the pre-ordered sleeping mats, bags, etc. was handled poorly. Items were not delivered to proper places and some were never delivered. There seemed to be no course to correct the problems. No one knew exactly who to call. Once someone with the company was reached, the person had no answers or solutions to the problem. May just be too much of an undertaking.

Male 56 Australia The handling of luggage from Melbourne to Sydney was ABYSMAL. I would have thought that at the very least an apology would have been given by the organisers to those affected.

Female 15 Australia The general organizing of WYD08 was very good, except it was annoying how all the different activities, etc. were so far away from each other and there was so much walking to do. Otherwise it was fantastic!

Male 17 United States The forced path from Barangaroo was unnecessarily long.

Female 20 Australia The food....please it was not very nice! More showers would be nice, I was billoted at a school with 10 showers for about 400 people...was not very nice.

Female 18 Australia The food, accomodation, travel facilities (trains and busses) and the toilet facilities were excellent! I was very impressed by them and it added to my enjoyable experince of WYD in Sydney. The program of events were good, although I was dissapointed in finding that there were many events which I wanted to attend but that were on at the same time. Although the transport system was great, it took ages to get from one place to another which was quite annoying at times.

Female 16 United States The food wasnt very enjoyable and our showering accomodations were bad.

Female 54 Australia The food was very good considering how many people had to be accommodated. Another time, have good coffee stands at venues, maybe use McDonalds with vouchers instead of endless supplies of goulash! We were all tired of eating the same thing every day by the end of the week. The showers could have been better too, but all in all, the amazing experience made it all worthwhile. Thankyou.

Female 19 New Zealand The food was very average, but the accommodation was amazing. There were however a few thefts and illnesses in our group which sucked.

Male 59 United States The food was too similar and would have liked to have seen more variety, especially warm food when it is cooler like in Australia. I had two sweatshirts stolen out of my luggage at Olympic Park where I was staying. I liked the music and prayer experiences. Seeing the pope is always great. As a group leader it is some times hard to do certain things because of responsibilities. We had a couple of people get sick and it was hard to take care of them at times. I would like the housing assignments at least a month or two before the trip, otherwise it is hard to plan the travel for a larger group. The work with the Visas was hard to get it done when there were foreign students in our gorup. The Days in the Diocese experience was a great experience for our group. We stayed in host homes and had not done this before. I have always used buses for our group in the past and it works better than the train system for our group, so I would want to do that again. The distance to walk to the vigil was better this time as it was not quaite as long. Please don't make this any longer in the future. It may not matteer as much with a small group, but with a larger group size you can lose people. The Catechetical sites should be close to the housing area as that is very important in the morning, we did like this. Please have more fruit available in the

morning. We had people that did not eat the canned fish, and I don't usually eat potatoe chips so often. A piece of fruit would have been better. Australia is a great country and so many great people to help us along the way. Thanks ever so much. May God continue to bless you in all you do!!!! I look forward to Madrid! We should be able to get a big group to go.

Male 24 Australia The food was reasonably good, but I have to honestly say the entertainment was my highlight of WYD.

Female 19 New Zealand the food was really good but sometimes hard to get i know that it proved difficult for the priests to register

Female 20 Australia The food was quite horrible. Breakfasts were great, but the lunches were very unhealthy, and not enough fruit. The food at the closing mass was good though.

Female 22 Australia The food was of good quality, however some of the hot dishes were too spicy/not well suited to catering to most peoples tastes and tolerances. Also some of the food was too junky i.e. chips/chocolates/lamingtons and so wasn't that good for providing a healthy source of energy. Travel and luggage arrangments were also a source of inconvenience with luggage being delayed and misplaced. The toilet facilities were mostly of a high standard and the setup is recommended for Madrid 2011.

Female 52 Australia The food was not particularly good.A number of our group ended up eating out most of the time which of course added to the expense of the pilgrimage.

Female 19 United States The food was not nearly as bad as I was expected, although something other than that same soup for the fifth night in a row might have been nice!

Female 61 France The food was not good at all. There was to much file to get food. So most of the time I had to manage by myself to buy some. I regret there was not a special place for the lost and found. There were too many security people on each train platform. People in these king of event normally take care enough, but not enough security people in the crowd and when whe got out of the final Mass, there was such a thick crowd blocked for a long time and along several kilometers without any security man, and this could have been very dangerous in case of emergency or panic<;

Female 39 Canada The food was great and distribution was good.If accommodations are more than an hour outside the main venue areas you lose a lot of time travelling.We spent 3 to 5 hours a day just travelling.

Male 14 Australia The food was good, but we had almost the same thing for 3-4 days in a row - by that time we had enough.

Female 19 Australia the food was good at first, but by the end of the week I was sick of basically having the same food everyday for lunch and dinner.

Female 23 Australia The food was excellent, however more fruit would have been welcome. The volunteer support was brilliant. It was difficult (impossible) to obtain the Pilgrim and Liturgy Guides in an alternative format (I am totally blind). I recommend that, in addition to offering sign language support, that the organisers offer large print, braille and electronic (.doc or .txt) formats for the official material.

Female 18 New Zealand THE FOOD WAS AMAZING!! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DID IT BUT IT WAS SOOO WELL ORGANISED AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANKYOU SO MUCH!!

Male 28 United Kingdom The food service was excellent as was the accommodation.

Female 23 Australia The food provided by WYD was poor and didn't cater for the majority of tastes. Only a few people I know enjoyed eating tuna every day. I was sick for a few days and I think I had no nourishment from the food that was provided. The accomodation at the school was poor and the showering facilities were an absolute joke, so I stayed with a friend in the area. The showers should have had a curtain seperating the individual showers at least. It was a stupid decision to have the 'shower block' to be located in the carpark of the church where cars were driving through often. The principal of the school was incredibly rude and was not welcoming at all, she made me want to turn around and go home, honestly. If my brother didnt live a few streets away and have a car I would have struggled to put up with the accomodation conditions at the school. The volunteers at the school were old and they spoke down to us (pilgrims). It felt like they didn't like us and that we were an inconvenience. It also took an hour and a half to get to events in the city, so the majority of time was spent travelling but nothing can really be done about that. Other than that, all WYD stuff was good... just the location, accomodation and food were horrible.

Female 22 Australia The food organisation the first few days was TERRIBLE! It wasn't explained clearly enough to people that you had to have six tickets and get your meals in groups of six. It should be suggested that at the start of the day each pilgrim gives his/her tickets for that day's meals to allocated people who leave events such as catechesis earlier to line up for the food and avoid the mad rushes and minimise stress.

Female 18 New Zealand the food on the vigil night was not that great and maybe give abit more food as sum people in our group did have the duck with veges as we were put off it because we've never eaten duck before and duck just put me off straight away so we were still abit hungry the other food given to us on the night was great. The pies were yummy!!!

Female 23 Canada The food on the 1st day was good but then afterwards, strange cold stew had the group going to buy food instead...

Female 60 United States The food lines were well organized. The only time we had a problem was at the opening Mass. The instructions were not to give out any food until Mass was over and everyone had to enter from one side. As a result there was a lot of pushing. One of our young people, with his 6 tickets, was not served until almost the end and he had been in line from the beginning. I was lucky enough to move to the far end where we had not been allowed to enter. Otherwise all was wonderful.

Female 18 Australia The food in Sydney was far from good. The baked beans and tuna wasn't exactly the right things to be feeding to a large group of young people. The organisation of the food also could have been better. Hours were spent waiting for average food. Making people actually queue for food, rather than everyone just stand around wating for it.

Male 17 Australia The food for the final weekend was horrible! Otherwise the organisation was really well done and ought to be commended. Sydney after all the whining ended up liking the event...which was a great feat seeing all it's primary concerns with the event.

Female 18 Australia The food could do with a little work, I came home rather ill after a week of luke warm stew with no proper vegetables. Everything else was fantastic though, I loved it.

Male 16 Canada The food at the large gatherings wasn't very good. It would be better to have more places set up that people could buy food rather then the packs. Like the bags though.

Female 15 United States The food at the group gathers, mainly the soup, was not very good at all.

Female 17 Australia the food at dinner was disgusting!!!!!!!! our whole group had to buy their own dinner every ngiht none of us could stomach it. The lunches were too repetative. If i still cant eat baked beans or tuna. For madrid definatly more fun stuff and hopefully they remember its world YOUTH day, so dont make masses long and boring and hard too understand, it wont let the youth like myself connect

Male 32 New Zealand The festival events seemed wonderful adn dvery appropriate. I loved the use of other cultures during the big masses (eg Fijian group at closing Mass), but was disappointed when 'traditional' music then took over - almost said,'and now for the real stuff'. Keep the centralised places for big gatherings - worked really well cf Cologne. Would be good to encourage recycling bins and the like around the big events to increase awareness of the environment and what WYD is doing to look after it.

Female 27 Philippines The facilities in Sydney was really impressive. I think a better reminder for the participants to more considerate on using the facilities & maintaining the cleanliness would help. I think it would also be helpful if the youth festivals & other events could be finished earlier so as to give more time for each individual for some quiet time & reflections. After alot of informations, inspirational talks & activities, it would be best if they would be given enough time and encouraged to slow down & reflect.

Female 40 Australia The events of activities were far from one another and it was simultaneously happening too. Walking to Barangaroo site was my difficulty.

Female 35 Malaysia The events mostly were not being attended by me fully as it was too many. I had to choose between what I like to listen to and what my members want to do. But overall, I did enjoy the events that I really participate in. Hope in the next WYD I can participate more in events....

Female 26 Kenya The event were well organized especially the picking of accreditation, the direction maps that explained where you were at all times, the people were always willing to assist in anything. The security was also good though transportation in the night was not so good. The food was good and in plenty.

Male 44 Qatar the event is well organized from the start new zealand to sydney australia,accomodations food transportation registration communication.

Male 29 Canada The evening vigil and Papal mass were uterly ruined for me (and other members of my group, and many others in attendance) by the poor planning that involved closing off the cricular tracks for long periods of time for security reasons. Also, as a group leader, the registration system was horrible and caused a lot of aggravation and lost time. Also, some of the paperwork that had been completed online was not forwarded to immigration officials causing problems at the border. Correspondance with WYD officials after the event has proven almost impossible. I am still awaiting a refund that was filed in early June and have had no replied to my emails...

Male 28 India The entire arrangment at WYD 2008 was perfect !!! However I would like to make one suggestion.I know this is a youth event and u cannot stop the youth from being what they are.I would hope that the Night Vigil would be a more prayerful and reflective. “,"

Female 49 Australia The distribution of the backpacks seemed to be rather disorganised. They should surely have beeen distributed at Olympic Park when people first registered. The sleeping conditions at Olympic Park were very poor. I felt embarassed to hear when speaking to some middle aged volunteeers that came over from the USA, to help that they had spent their week at Olympic Park lying on a 8mm foam matress, later swappped for carpet on a cold concrete floor in the middle of winter. We are a wealthy country and our church isn't poor, surely better sleeping conditions could have been provided. I don't think I would volunteer to help out in another country at WYD if I couldn't at least have something soft to sleep on between me and the concrete floor. Showering conditions were primitative. It was unreasonable for teenage girls who have their periods to share a communal shower, especially when the drains kept blocking and you were up to your ankles in dirty water. It was embarassing to these girls and unpleasant for others. There were insufficient showers to be able to shower alone unless you dis so st 3 am in the morning for example.We had to be out of the building by 8am and couldn' come back to 6:30 pm! The boys also had a problem with a guy from another country urinating in the shower they were sharing. As WYD in Madrid will be during a warmer time of year I think it is even more important that the showers be clean, private and sufficient in number. I think that if people are going to be required to sleep on concrete this should also be advised long before the event. Accomodation details also need to be finalised much sooner than in Sydney so that there is sufficient time to make arrangements for bus hire etc.

Female 28 Australia The diocesan organisation was OK, but almost everything was well organised for the CEO schools, with no real consideration given for Non-CEO Catholic schools in the diocese. Many things were left to the last minute.

Female 18 Australia the dinner food wasnt as enjoyable as the other meals but otherwise my experience was fine.

Female 60 Australia The curry food was frequently served.

Female 20 Australia The constant delay or changing of information received regarding registration deadlines and late receipt of program of events. The majority of host pilgrims did not arrive in our Parish? Food to be organised in groups of 4? 6 was difficult! More rubbish bins at all sites (particularly Barangaroo & Randwick the bins were over-flowing!)

Male 45 United States The concept of assigned sections for large events was great...when it was enforced. It worked great for opening Mass, Papal Welcome, and Stations. But no volunteers were in sight at the vigil site. Our group stayed in our assigned cell but most of the folks around us were assigned other cells. It's much easier to be a group leader when the rules are enforced equally. But when they're not, you put me in a difficult decision when I decide that my group will continue to follow the rules, even when everyone around us is not. We were very impressed at the number of volunteers at all venues (except that they were very sparse at Randwick--at least in our section).

Male 31 United States The computer-based registration process was a bit confusing for me. I wasn't quite sure about how the payment process worked and about adding myself as a pilgrim to my own group. Also, I do not recall my parish encouraging or actively promoting World Youth Day, and I wish it had- particularly about the need to register well in advance (so that I could have joined the 'Days in the Dioceses', for example).

Male 54 New Zealand The computer appeared to fail at registration. The security clearences were not able to be printed and the name tags took a long time to issue.

Male 24 Australia The Church needs to be more experienced in dealing with contractors etc. in getting things built/organised for WYD.

Male 52 United States The church (Rome) should have software to use for the registration process so it is not being redeveloped everytime there is a WYD. My group was charged twice by registering ealy when there were bugs in the software and it took a long time to get this corrected, which returned all money and then we couldn't get the charge put back on other then to go out and recharge the amount we needed to pay, which showed up as a double charge in the end.

Female 40 United States The check in for the priests needs to be clearly organized and all details need to be communicated to group leaders at least 2 weeks prior. As a group leader I had no information. I had to rely on my local travel agent.

Female 24 United States The booklet said that we were covered by travel insurance because we were pilgrims. However, it gave no other information about the provider or about what to do if we needed to use that insurance. My mom got sick and was admitted to the hospital and the hospital staff were so frustrated because all of the pilgrims said they were covered but couldn't give any more information. Luckily, I was able to call around and get this information, but other pilgrims from my group had to pay much more money than they should have (US$400), given that Ace provided my mom with a guarantee and we only had to pay Aus$50. So, I suggest that if there is any mention at all of insurance that not only should the provider's name and number and what exactly the coverage includes also be listed, but also that local hospitals are given that information.

Male 26 Philippines the best! you helped me to be a proud and devoted catholic

Female 26 Singapore The barricading was very good. Pligrims were very well protected. But on certain occassions, it was disturbing that we had to go one whole round to get to where we wanted or some times to where we were allocated. Food provided were a bit too sweet esp the cakes. Nonetheless a very good job in hosting such a huge event!! With so many things to look out for. The best was done to see that we were well taken care of. The travel passes brought about great convenience.

Female 46 Micronesia The arrangements for our accommodations were not finalized until the week before we were set to travel to Sydney. Moreover, even though we had been warned of the cold weather, being from teh tropics, we came to Sydney unprepared for 13 degree weather.

Female 56 Australia The accreditation process was very poor and information was not cleared enough for volunteer. Picking up uniforms process was a disaster, it took more than 6 to 8 hours to queue up. Arrangement of shift change was impossible and communication was none.

Female 29 Australia The Accreditation process was too complex & wasn't required for Catechesis teams. The online registration system & payment method was difficult for large groups to know which payments were made. There were numerous other problems with the online registration. The concept of online can work well, this particular system didn't work though.

Male 48 Canada The Accreditation process was an nightmare, I spent a day and a half sitting in an dingy office in Sydney, treated very poorly, and in the end the accreditation process collapsed. And we lost several days trying to meet all the requirements. It ruined a big chunk of the trip. The artist agreements had a very predatory contractual clause that stated, any original music I play that they

record on video tape gives them full ownership to those lyrics and music and that from that moment on I have absolutely no rights whatsoever over my own songs and I would need permission from WYD ever to even sing my own songs again... Here is the clause: ======6) I agree that ownership of any intellectual property rights in the Footage and all works derived or created under it vest in WYD 2008 and that to the extent that any such intellectual property rights vest in me, I assign those rights to WYD 2008. 7) To the full extent permitted by law, I consent to the doing of anything in relation to the Footage that (but for the consents provided in this letter) would otherwise infringe any moral rights, performers’ rights or similar non-assignable personal rights that I might otherwise have including but not limited to publishing the Footage without attribution and modifying/adapting the Footage. ======That clause, and the accreditation process, left a very poor taste in my mouth over WYD... it really made me second think the whole trip ... and they introduced that agreement one month before WYD, long after we had financially committed thousands of dollars. Please never do that to Catholic artists again. We do this for free, because we love the Church and we love the Lord, and we hope to be treated with respect.

Female 24 Ireland The accomodation in Waverley school was very cold and a huge number of the group got the flu and so many had fever symptoms during the sleepout at Randwick! So we were warmer sleeping outside that night! My full sleeping pack ordered from Harvest Youth Tours was delivered and left on the doorstep of the parish church and subsequently stolen because the delivery was being left outside without being signed for. The same happened with replacement deliverys. I never received my sleep pack which was paid for. Sometimes there were huge queues at the food tents and no one ordering the crowds, so there was queue skipping and pushing going on.

Male 15 Australia the accomodation

Female 51 United States The accommondation was a little not very confortable. We wee 5 people in a small room, far from the city.

Male 17 Australia The accomidation arrangements were all good for our group although they had a few hickups before we left on how we were to get there/where we were staying etc. The food was well prepared considering the amount of people they were catering for and the tolet block were well stationed (although not always working :P) around for easy access. The daily events were all good fun and well as the masses well prepared. Overall, the event was well prepared and though out, there were a few hickups but for the amount of people there were, they did extremely well. Thank you for WYD!!!

Female 20 Australia The organisation, transport, etc was great, I'd maybe suggest making the pilgrimage a little easier, I'm relativly fit, though I had had glandular fever earlier in the year, but I struggled a bit with the walk, weight of packs, etc. I'd definatly suggest an easier route for madrid.

Female 17 Australia That accomodation is not too far away from the events. We stayed at a primary school two hours away from Sydney's CBD and we lost a lot of much needed sleep!

Female 19 Australia Thankyou. for making such a huge success. you did a fantastic job!!

Female 18 Australia THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow everyone really did a superb job on all of WYD. i had and have no problems to say about WYD, well done....all i have to do is learn how to speak a different language. haha have a good day too all:) :) :) thankx again you guys really made this amazing journey worthwhile. god bless all and take care Emma.

Female 19 Papua New Guinea Thanks to the Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community in Cairns, Canberra and Sydney for their great hospitality, mpst especially their love and concern in taking care of us.

Female 46 Australia Thanks to everyone - they did a great job!

Female 30 Australia Thanks heaps for a wonderful WYD 2008 experience

Male 30 Canada thanks for the opportunity to provide feedback, I've seen that every WYD gets better and better in terms of organization and logistics so nothing but compliments there. There are aspects I am concerned about though. It seems that the event is becoming more and more commercialized with a certain amount of materialism. It is understandable that a lot of money goes into hosting WYD and often the host city is left with a large bill to pay but I think a greater emphasis should be given to the Church as a whole, not just for those who can aford it. For example, instead sourcing out souvenirs and pilgrim items Dioceses around the world could be encourage to organize themselves to create these items, the sale of which can be used for the WYD costs and support the respective Dioceses. It was attempted in WYD 02 but I feel there is much room for expansion. I think this would involve the local Dioceses in the whole event much more than just raising money to send their pilgrims. Specially the ones in poorer countries who cannot muster the large numbers of pilgrims but have vast numbers of faithful who are willing to help out and offer their time for such a worthy cause plus in any case these Dioceses are often the ones in most need of financial aid. A larger aspect of this world wide Catholic cooperation would be the personnal link between the pilgrim and the person who made the souvenir, it adds a broader sense of unity that defines WYD. Another suggestion (good thing there's no limit on this form) would be to integrate those same Dioceses, as many as logistically posible, to the WYD events (at least one main event). The majority of youth in most countries have never and will never have the opportunity to attend a WYD or even participate in a papal event. I feel that it would be a great experience for them to be part off and actively participate in a WYD event (closing mass/opening mass) simultaneously with the WYD pilgrims, other countries and of course the Pope. Spain is located in a time zone that would allow for all of Africa and part of Asia to link up, even if there's a couple of hours difference. The Americas would have to link earlier on the day but theoreticaly most of the world could link up for one big event. I would venture to say that many of the Catholic network station would gladly contribute to this event and help with the high costs of satellite links and the logistics. I think this would allow for a rare opertunity of expressing our unity and spread the benefits and gifts of WYD to the whole Church as a whole. Another suggestion is to integrate pilgrims into improving WYD itself. As Catholics we are responsible for proper stewardship and everytime I leave a closing mass or big event I feel responsible for the large amount of garbage and the mess left behind. It would be advisable to allow for 'cleanup time' after the events and to encourage pilgrims to participate responsibly and remove their waste. No worst PR than to see pictures of the endless garbage left behind, it's a sad sight. This would also help lower the costs since cleaning up is not cheap. I have a lot of more suggestions but these suffice for now, God Bless. Norman

Male 27 Singapore Thanks for all the voulenteers involved. It was awesome!

Male 53 Australia Thanks for all the enormous work, effort and organisation. Thanks also for the enormous sense of vision and foresight that is prepared to tackle such an enormous event

Male 17 Australia Thanks for a great and fantastic experiences for Sydney's WYD and for the 2011 country make sure that these people will get the experience that Sydney got. Thanks

Male 22 Italy thanks

Male 26 Canada Thank You:)

Female 21 United States Thank you, WYD people for organizing this blessed event! I personally, thought that there was a lot going on, but I missed most of it and I really wanted to attend many of them. The reason I wasn't able to attend most events was because I'm an Eastern Rite Catholic and our Mass was scheduled at a later time and Catechesis ended about 1pm. By the time we got to the city, it was about after 1pm and concerts were scattered over Sydney that I missed out on most of the concerts, etc. It too long to get from one place to the other and then our Church had its own events and getting to our stationed place took some time, too. I wish I got the chance to listen to more speakers. The night at Vigil barely gave us food. Also, there was too much sweets in meals. But, overall, no regrets and am looking forward into going again!

Female 20 Australia THANK YOU!!!

Female 20 Philippines Thank You! I think it was very organized. I wish to share the hapiness inside to more youth as possible. Make the youth active, we need it. :)

Male 33 Australia Thank you!

Male 31 Philippines Thank you very Much!

Male 17 Philippines Thank You Very Much for my WYD08 Experience! It was truly the best time of my life! WYD11 Organizers could be more involved in the travel arrangements of their pilgrims. Our group was unable to join the opening ceremonies because our airline had an 18 hour delay in Brunei, and since they didn't really care about our purpose of travel, no arrangements were made to bring us to Sydney on time. As for crowd management, WYD08 was very good, however, given the huge number of people, we were always situated in a 'telescopic distance' from the Holy Father. Now I don't know if something could be done about this, but well, what's done is done, I guess. Other than these comments, I had too much fun to notice anything negative about WYD08. Maybe another suggestion would be to collaborate with the local government to promote tourism related to WYD in Madrid, and offer arrangements for tours before/after WYD11.

Female 27 Singapore Thank you to the team. The call centre was extremely helpful leading to the event even though there were so many queries and requests. Throughout the event, there were committed and helpful volunteers. It was a well organised event for such a large number of people. I especially felt the Eucharistic Adoration was extremely meaningful. Thank you to the team who worked tirelessly through the whole event. Thank you.

Female 27 Ireland Thank you to the organisers and all who helped to make WYD 08 mega. Although I understand the reasons for making meal vouchers part of the package I and the perople I travelled with would have preferred if the food vouchers were not part of the package for the entire week.

Female 17 New Zealand THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE WYD A GREAT AND MOST FUFILLING LIFE-CHANGING EVENT!

Female 20 Philippines Thank You to all Organizers of this event...Well Done!

Female 21 Canada Thank you so much for everything that you guys did. I thought things were done really wel for this World Youth Day.

Female 17 Australia Thank you so much and God bless, you all did an amazing job.

Female 36 Australia Thank you organisers!!! Well done

Male 27 Australia Thank you for bring Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati !!!!!!

Female 18 Australia Thank you for all that you did for us. I have an illness, and I found it really hard to get around, especially with all the walking, but in saying that I think you did a great job in providing for us. However WYD SYD, it was very difficult to know where to go to pick up registration if you weren't a part of a school group or being assigned accommodation. I felt all the work I did for the forms, the forms were ignored anyway, perhaps if the pilgrams wanted, you could ask where they're staying for WYD events and send the packs to them. Example: For me I was listed as having a disablitiy, which I do, but I didn't use a wheelchair to pick up my packs, so I didn't get a wheelchair sticker which concluded to me the forms were ignored for us! Also we had no idea where to go to pick up the registration, and by the time we made it to the opening mass I had to leave 5mins after arriving, because of my illness (and no wheelchair) I was about to collapse or worse. Also the fact the sleepover part was so far from the other WYD events, I couldn't come back for the closing cermony. Because i didn't stay the night in fear my illness would hinder my experience and the experience of others. Also there was so much going on and I wasn't able to go to the extra youth events, which I was very eager to attend. However other than those complaints I enjoyed it very much. And am happy to say WYD empowered me to become Catholic and in a few days I will offically be Catholic! Thank you, God bless.

Female 45 Philippines Thank you for a very well organized WYD 2008. We intend to go back to Australia since we enjoyed our trip. We would like our other kids to see the City which opened its arms to millions of Catholics!

Male 27 Canada Thank you and God bless. Practice universal inclusivity for those with disabilities Have proper transportation to ALL events and around the city Disability area should be elevated for those in wheel chairs and much closer to the altar Golf carts should be present and extremely accessible DO NOT make it so you require 6 tickets to eat (I went every day without food). This includes vegetarians!!! Give me a call; I’d love to speak further on this awful experience! Thank you and God bless.

Male 19 Australia THANK YOU ALL, for the great commitment you all provided to making WYD a much great event and making 2008 very memorable for all the youth, pilgrams and volenteers! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME LIVE A MORE SPIRITUAL AND A MORE RESPECTING LIFE!!! GOD BLESS AND TAKE CARE!!!

Female 49 Latvia th night vigil was really great in Australia!hope that Madrid would be the same, more really prayer and not only concerts

Male 19 Australia Terriffic food, amazingly well organised. if problems occur though, volunteers should be made to feel free to ask for help in the areas where the problems have occurred. eg. opening mass. the microwaves broke down in one food tent. Had the volunteers said that help would be appreciated then myself and others would have assisted to lighten the load.

Female 24 New Zealand sydney was so organized! left cologne for dead! food was easy to get, queues not too long, seating arrangements at stations of cross and vigil were well organised, efficient transportation, fantastic accomodation!! i was blown away by how smoothly and efficiently everything ran considering the huge number of pilgrims.

Male 28 United States Sydney was run so smoothly compared to WYD's in the past. Public transport was flawless, volunteer support was endless and the entire city was warm and welcoming.

Female 59 United States Sydney was my 5th WYD. Sydney was the best organized, with Toronto 2nd. The clean portable toilets were most appreciated! The trash pick up at the Vigil site was most appreciated! Thank you to the security for enforcing the allocated spaces. Thank you for the rubber 'carpet' on the ground, it was so much easier to walk and stay clean and dry. Please enforce a curfew at the Vigil site in Madrid . . . the few that walked around making unneccessary nuisance noises, showed a huge lack of consideration for others. Around 4AM, the security finally stopped them. Also, there was a couple from Germany in one sleeping bag. IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE! Standards should be set and enforced by security. It is a safety issue - their souls are in danger, and they cause scandal. The L'Arche group catechesis was cute for a social event, but lacking in profound catechism. Their selection of music for liturgy, again, was fitting a social event. Thanks for NOT singing 'Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees' which they did at Sunday mass with the Holy Father in Cologne. It is contrary to Catholic teaching of the Eucharist.

Male 20 Ireland Sydney was definately better organised than Cologne. The logistics of our group seemed to run perfectly. While facilities and transport were hardly excellent, they were perfectly adequate and though others felt that they were substandard, I think they were very conducive to group dynamic development and ensured great craic; fancy accomodation and less walking would dampen the fun. However, one exception was food. While Cologne was terrible, Sydney was fine, though could have been better. After any WYD, I think the quality of the food was the most talked about aspect and I think is the most important part. Good food=good morale, as is recognized by defence forces all over the world who employ gourmet chefs to cook great food, and lots of it for their troops, so I hear. Give pilgrims lots of hot cooked food, that's full of taste(i.e.not brown mush), and a menu that changes from day to day; people get tired of the same food and you're stuck when you don't like it. Plus, even when I ate all my own, and others' food, we all still needed to supplement it with restaurants, takeaways, fast food, etc.

Female 17 New Zealand Sydney was amazing. Everything was organised and ran smoothly.

Female 52 United States Sydney had a very efficient organization, except that we did not receive the program booklets in time to know which events were being offerred. I was very impressed with the sanitation facilities--a huge improvement over any previous WYD I had attended.

Male 60 Ireland Sydney got most things right and organisation was wonderful. However, registration process was slow and in a very cramped building. Congratulations on clean toilets at final mass!!! Cologne was bad! Overall - GREAT!

Male 40 New Zealand sydney organisation it not think how many people coming to the world youth day

Female 21 Australia Superb!

Female 27 Indonesia Stations of the Cross: i followed the stations of the cross from Darling Harbour...it was so great and nice..it's just so hard for me to concentrate for there are too many distractions at that place. people there (other prlgrims) seemed to feel the same way too for they talked to each other and did other activities other than following the stations of the cross. moreover we had to sit facing the sunlight to be able to see the screen. it was so disturbing..it's so hard to really create the atmosphere in public places like that. Food: the food is just not my taste, not get used to eat those kind of food. but for me i don't care for spending more money to buy my own food coz i'm in a part of the great WYD event. besides, who doesn't really have trouble bout food?

not a big deal accomodation: i didn't know where the information went wrong, our group (more or less 50 persons, all female)were told to stay in this particular school, but once we got there , they weren't expecting for us...only other people from other countries but not us..thank God the principal let us use the hall which is suppose to be dinning room. in big event like this, misscommunication can easily happened. i heard our group was not the only one who experienced it...For me, i am prepared to sleep anywhere we are allowed to coz i'm in the part of the great WYD event...but better minimize the errors, right?! proficiat and good luck for WYD MAdrid!!

Male 49 Australia Spanish lessons are essential

Female 16 Australia Spain to me is such a foreign country. I've never been to europe so i think WYD 2011 will be my first experience (and what a great one too) I hope that along side the religious aspects, international pilgrims such as myself will be exposed to the culturally rich traditions of spain. Something very much like what happened ihn Sydney such as the Aboriginal dances etc would be great

Male 24 Sweden Sometimes the food distribution just didn't work. One day, I had luckily enough saved some food from lunch, since the que for the dinner would have taken hours to get through. And those that weren't in the ILG seem to have been bothered by people nearby in the crowd eating, smoking and playing around during Mass. Of course it's common sense not to do stuff like that but some people obviously need to be reminded how you should behave during Mass (even if it hass hundreds of thousands of participants).

Female 16 Australia Sometimes food was difficult, as I am gluten intollerant, though it was good to be accomodated as best a possible.

Male 61 Japan Something must be done to improve participation in the virtual pilgrimage leading up to the real pilgrimage and following it.

Female 25 Australia Something could have been done about all the left over food on the last day...it would have been nice to see it go toward people in need instead of just throwing it away!

Male 26 New Zealand Some suggestions. That more video screens be put up in place at different good positions so that people will be able to see what is happening at certain events like when the Pope comes to visit the pilgrims, etc.... That all food and accomodation is fully paid for before pilgrims leave their countries to go to WYD.

Female 30 Czech Republic Some problems I have mentioned in questionnaire. Thank you for your work and everything what you have prepared for pilgrims from all over the world. God Bless!

Female 17 United States Some of the venues were far apart and so it was hard to go to one event and then to another.

Male 39 Philippines Some of my group members were not able to make it to Sydney. I tried and tried to have their registration fees reimbursed but nothing happened in the end. There were initial responses that the our request was being processed but my last emails to the organizers just bounced back. Anyway, the registration fees can be counted as donations to WYD. But I would have preferred that I got a response that we could not get a refund instead of waiting and just come up with our own conclusions. Just the same, we enjoyed WYD 2008!

Female 17 Australia So well organised. Thank you :)

Male 44 Australia Slept on the floor due to receiving baggage late. Accomodation was far away. Long daily travelling times. Otherwise excellent.

Male 18 New Zealand sigining over minors to a leader is not good

Female 16 Australia shorter queues for food lines, and the six person pack thing didn't work out for alot of pilgrims.

Male 40 New Zealand Set more time for quiet time. Let group leaders know in advance about a set program of morning and evening prayer so they can plan that into the days. Indicate a seating capacity for each of the youth festival event facilities. Advise pilgrims of typical travel times (walking?) between various event locations, this would help with planning of days.

Female 55 Australia Seriously, the heating of food was poor. Often the hot fool was warm or cool and very offputting and wasteful. Purchasing hot food was also lacking and poor in quality.

Male 31 South Africa SEE YOU IN MADRID.

Female 24 United States See above. It was amazing. It was only personal stuff and our travel agency that made my experience a bit lackluster. The free transportation and opening of streets for pedestrians were great. The backpacks with the items were VERY helpful as well. Some suggestions: more variety in the pilgrim food. We were sick of the 'chicken stew' by the third night! Whatever happened to more meat pies? I can eat stew at home =) More jumbo-trons (big screens to see the stage). There never seemed to be enough and the ones available were weirdly placed and hard to see because of all the flags.

Male 60 Australia see above

Female 28 New Zealand Security overkill. Why were we made to walk so much? The free bus services were a bit slow to get their act together in the beginiing in the Hills area. For Madrid connect the catequesis to food worked well. Good luck Madrid in being as organised as Sydney they did a great job. The balance of options for the Youth festival was fantastic.

Female 23 Australia Running out of time or I would write more-- the organization of everything was brilliant, I was so impressed. Congratulations.

Male 43 Norway Registration: it must be possible for a lay leader to find out how to register a priest into the group. - Passes for groups should be delivered to accommodation places or send by mail before WYD. Food should be more nourishing. Be aware of the heat in Madrid: maybe possibilities for siesta at catechesis places and a later evening program. DotD: earlier distribution of places to be able to contact people and organise travel.

Female 29 United Kingdom Registration: Complicated registration system, time consuming. The way the website was designed was frustrating to navigate and added to the trauma that was the entire registration process! 3 of the 5 payments i made were lost and never retrieved. I was threatened with having the groups visas and accomodation revoked if i didn't pay up. I communicated via email about this problem as soon as i realised it had happened in feburary and was always told it was being looking into. Every step of the way i was respectful and provided the information requested. I eventually made a phone call ... staying up into the middle of the night, due to time differences, to speak to the registration team and was offered no help at all. In fact i left the conversation in tears and feeling helpless to provide answers to my group members and thier parents. And to top it of, we were given information of our accomodation only 1 week before we

left, despite paying in full by April. And when we arrived at our accomodation 36 hours after leaving home they weren't expecting us! Thankfully, one person was and everything was ok but the whole expereience was stressful and like nothing i have experienced before. Stations: Stayions of the Cross looked like it could have been the most beautiful experience. What i'd like to suggest for next time is that at all sites someone is MC'ing and holding it all together. We were at Barangaroo and were unsure if stations had started or not as sound was poor for some reason and view of a screen was difficult. It's difficult to get a group to focus when it is unclear what is happening. When stations finally arrived we were awe struck at thier beauty and saddened that we had missed the others. Crowd control: Left us feeling like hearded sheep and frustrated that we had to walk an hour out of our way after the main events to get to the train station when the nearest one was 5 mins away. Which was very annoying when accomodation was an hour out of the city already. Most nights folowing the big events not getting home most of the time before 1am. Police presence was way too obvious and took away from the 'peaceful universal Church' expereince. Music: Traditional Church is beautiful but it's not always appropriate, attractive or prayerful or encouraging of participation. We had a classicaally trained singer and musician in our group who learned the music and taught it to us for our Masses prior to WYD. Even she found it difficult! The music was beautiful to listen to as a performance but really wasn't the best for participation or even for making the Mass/event a more beautiful experience. More and more now, young people are used to more modern music, music that enables them to Worship and adore God. Why can't this kind of music be used at WYD events? or even music that is easy to sing? One member of my group was on her first WYD and she was angered that this is the kind of music and level of participation that organisers think gives a 'welcome to the Church' feel and lets praise God together. I have to admit, i'm inclined to agree. The only reason my group particpated fully in most of the events is because we made sure we sat down together and started and finished each event together. Catechesis: This is a bone of contention following every WYD ... to the point that this time i forwarned my group not to expect too much. And i'm glad we did warn them as it was a disappointing experience. Animation was the same everyday and provided by the same people every day, the same music, the same voices. The 1st Bishop was monotone, boring, irrelevant and political - politics isolates people. Thankfully, the 2nd bishop was very good. Relaxed and challenging and open to discussion. We didn't attend the 3rd Catechesis - late nights had left people tired. I'd like to know how Bishops are selected for Catechesis? is it just that they volunteer? or does someone somewhere take an interest in thier ability to give Catechesis? talk to young people? be open and frank? The group i took are from a Charismatic background and the most frustrating things for most of us were: The bishops shy away from answering difficult or controversial questions (keep in mind anything they were asking was completely inline with Church teaching) Some are dismissive of The Charismatic Renewal - this isolates The Bishop is not interested in thier topic I'd like to suggest that somehow Bishops are vetted! Could there be some kind of registry of what Bishop is doing Catechesis and where? Can you let group leaders know what Bishops are doing Catechesis at thier catechesis site prior to arriving for WYD - this would then allow them to make informed decisions for thier group. Politics: Leave it out. Madrid, advise your speakers, preachers and welcomers to leave politics out of WYD - it offends. I have lots more to say but i'm being told my session will close in 3 mins!

Female 21 Australia Registration was difficult. Hard to follow up payments for group members and direct debit payment was mixed up and wasn't being listed as paid on the website. It was unfortunate that although as pilgrims we paid to be registered that many people who hadn't paid got to go to all the events and had better placement at the events than those who paid.

Female 60 Australia Registration was difficult (even for my young, computer savvy children. I think a lot of people might not have made it here because they couldn't make contact.

Female 48 Australia Registration was confusing because Broken Bay had their own registration system which held things up. I registered with Sydney but people were told to hold off registering until November via Broken Bay registration and this mixed things up and delayed our tickets being received. Some people were not together because of this. We received them on the Tuesday morning of the Arrival of the Holy Father. Where we were seated at Barangaroo was not a good location. Could not see that much. Some members went elsewhere for the Stations of the Cross. Stations in the Domain was excellent because is was grassed and sloping and close. Much better ground cover to sit on then sand, gravel and concrete at Barangaroo.

Female 32 Australia registration was an ordeal for people not involved in a large group. So much so that we didn't end up registering officially and paying for tickets to things - we weren't going for the whole week (Just Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

Male 25 Australia Registration was abit of a mess but it all worked out. I did not particularly enjoy the 'youthful' music but then I understand that we have to cater for all ages and each one has their own tastes. The talks and forums about social justice, religious tolerence etc should have been better publicised, but having said that I realise that those who did go to them must have made an effort to get there so it was more special in that sense.

Male 27 United Kingdom Registration was a shambles. My girlfriend and I wanted to travel seperately to the diocese as we could arrange our own accomodation with Friends, but I had to set up a group to do this, which seemed like a stupid system. Right up unitl queueing at a ridiculously small office in a side strett that was not big enough to cope with the crowds, we did not know if the Egeria system had fully registered us. Right up until we left, it was showing that I had not paid because of a backlog in the system - I had paid three months before so it must have been some backlog! I fully expected to queue, but having got to the front, we were only given part of the registration - we had to journey elsewhere in the city to get our disgusting coloured backpacks. When we got there, the backpacks for our category were not there, but rather than queue again, we took the ones a category below us. Surely, in Madrid, it should be possible to organise a big enough open space to house tents to register 100,000 people a day, with all of their stuff ready and waiting for them to pick up? This would have been possible in Sydney too. Why wasn't the registration held at Randwick for instance? It would make it a lot easier for the organisers too surely? I am sorry to moan, but there are three years to get this sort of thing right, so I hope my feedback helps some.

Female 28 Australia registration was a real hassle. When members of my group were having trouble registering and unregistering we went to register in person. Having queued for hours we were finally assisted by a member of staff who wasn't fluent in English and who sent all correspondence to us in his native language. After numerous attempts at trying to have the issue of refunds resolved with wyd, we are still unsuccessful. Cost of attending WYD way too much for young people wanting to attend WYD. Especially uni students struggling to make ends meet between fortnightly income payments, partime jobs earning minimum wage and those from families who have more than one sibling,are dependents and wish to attend wyd together.Also rather disappointing how groups of people who were not registered pilgrims were able to just walk in at the Closing Mass; no questions asked. NOBODY should ever have to pay to attend Mass. That's what the collection plate is for. When deciding on the date of the next wyd, kindly consider the climate of the host city. Pilgrims understand that they will be doing it tough but freezing cold in the middle of winter??

Female 52 Australia Registration was a nightmare. Apologies to the program writer but it took multiple attempts to get it done.Otherwise i congratulate the organisers for such a fantastic event. The food... we have so much fresh produce, was glad there were opportunities for other food for our kids.. Can there be a site set up so that groups starting to organise for Madrid can network with

others on such mundane things as numbers of pilgrims, how travel is anticipated, what needs to go on the journey, fundraising ideas, what can be shared, do we set up similar to Days in the Diosese for pilgrims to be able to network before the journey; ideas for further pilgrimage whilst at WYD2011

Female 47 United Kingdom Registration was a NIGHTMARE! Distribution of food was impossible leading us to have to may on several occasions to feed the group We missed the Stations as we were allocated Barrangaroo for the third time that week and would have been sat in front of a screen AGAIN for too long before the end stations. The age restriction caused great problems for us. It split our school year and several hopeful pilgrims were left very hurt and some even have left the church since.I think differing school years age range should lead it to being 16 years within twelve months after WYD. It particularily hurt to see younger participants in Australia and we had left 10 fifteen year old behind as they were not 16 until before July 2009. WITHIN OUR SCHOOL YEAR

Female 33 Ireland Registration was a mess, but I can understand how difficult it must have been. Also distribution of food was diffuicult at times as some centres had run out before we got there.

Female 35 Australia Registration was a disaster (online, ticket distribution). Marketing not supporting other Dioceses (use of WYDSYD logo, restraints etc). Transport negotiations for Wollongong Diocese overlooked as part of initial deal. Organisaiton of Receive the Power live was not supported by WYD - this was dissapointing as this event was by far one of the best staged all week, it was relevant to young people and called them to action. Dioceses in Australia should be making resources available now to plan for Madrid WYD rather than just taking over a small group and doing the minimum, that is a very disappointing attitude.

Female 34 Ireland Registration seemed difficult, no reply to emails sent when people had difficulty registering. Apart from that I think very well organised from bus passes to the lunch arrangements - perhaps a bit too much plastic wrapping in these days of environmental fragility though!

Female 26 Australia Registration programme was a bit chaotic. There should be a financial option for people just attending the final mass- they shouldnt have to pay for whole week end.

Female 24 Philippines registration process: our group experienced run short of two passes for our groupmates. so instead of visiting sites last July 15th, our group leader had to get two more passes and we had to wait for her for almost a day. i hope that there would be less experiences in distributing passes to each group. communication of information: it was too late when we learned that the lunch was transferred from one place to another. there shouldve been more organized steps to communicate information travel arrangements: there were long routes before a group could enter a church. please reorganize the routes next time in order for the group to go to a site on time. food: a lot of food was wasted. some of the cans were unopened. i hope they didn't end up in trash bins. i hope they were shared to the needy instead. if i had the strength and time on the last day of the world youth day, i would have gathered all the unopened food and shared them with those who were beggin in the streets.

Female 20 Jordan registration process was quite complicated, and we had many different problems while registering. travel arrangements were perfect. Food and accomodation was also perfect. Bathrooms were WAAAAAY better than in Köln 2005. Generally, the organisation was pretty good. But i would suggest for spain to be prepared to receive many many more people. like im expecting around 3 million to be there! and i would advise them to have a simple and effective registration process. and an easier way to get visas, it was very very difficult to get visas to

australia, and some people were rejected. But seriously, thanks for everything, its obvious that alot of effort was put into this wyd and im really thankful!

Female 18 Australia registration process was pretty confusing.. i can't comment on anything else because I was fortunate with this WYD because I could go home every night so facilities and accommodation were not an issue. Sydney also has a great transport system so transport was not an issue. I've heard that for those staying in schools etc that the toilets and bathrooms were extremely hard to access because there were SO many people and as a result people were missing out on showers for days/running late because of the huge numbers of people. I don't really know how this can be solved. the food we provided was great, i think if you use the same or similar company next time you'll be fine!

Female 24 Australia Registration process was not a good experience for me. I really wanted to volunteer but was not contacted at all eventhough I have called few times and they told me someone will contact me. I lost the opportunity to help out while I have spared my time at work to dedicated the week for WYD. Apparently many others had the same story, and some people who applied far after I did, got accepted with no dramas!

Male 25 Singapore Registration Process was confusing especially when trying to add Pilgrims into the same group as the Group Leader. Booking/Confirmation of the Youth Festival Events were redundant because anyone could just walk into the events whether they confirmed their attendance prior to the trip or not. Variety of food needs to be improved. Otherwise, the organisation has been pretty good!

Male 46 Australia Registration process was complex, and the strength of the password required was ridiculous. It was even tougher than a bank login. Obviously, many many people, including my parish priest and myself, had forgotten the password. Transport was also not that good. The fact that Melbourne diocese wanted to control all buses down from Sydney was troublesome.

Male 27 Australia Registration process was abysmal. I had to pay for my registration twice because they had no record of my original payment (I had made many payments for many others and so couldn't single out my one). Food was terrible, would have given bad impression to international visitors but I understand the constraints WYD Sydney were under. Harvest were great throughout but reliability declined a bit towards the end, which I think was inevitable. I think Xt3 was a bad idea. Should have worked with facebook to get the needed functionality. Most (at the moment)have a facebook and have no incentive to check Xt3 unless they are heavily involved in youth events in Sydney, methinks. Moreover though,it was a job well done for the money and with all the struggles. I would wish to compliment everyone involved.

Male 40 Australia Registration process attempted to be too thorough - and hence just completely stuffed up (especially accreditation). Official liturgies were so horrible - way too tradition, conservative and irrelevant. Sydney Archdiocese is almost ready for the 19th century - bring it on!

Male 43 Australia Registration process & communication of information were not very good.

Female 59 United States Registration Process - be VERY clear about what each package includes (ie, transportation, catechesis, etc.) Be sure to include ALL the relevant questions you need answered and not add them afterwards with no notification about them to the group leader. Security - suggest for the second time - digital ID photo badges. This will enable anyone from the group to pick up their own ID's, should they not have received it upon arrival. This will allow the group leader to remain with his/her group. I further suggest, that you have RANDOM security checks throughout the venues.

Female 53 Australia registration online i found difficult

Female 48 Canada Registration is horrible!!! Checking in to get my package was a nightmare!!! I really feel sorry for the priest who need to line up for 9 hours to get their accreditation. 2 of our seminarians did not get recognized as seminarians either. As I helped 3 church groups arrange their trip, They overpaid and cant even get their refund specially one of them who over paid over $1000

Male 22 Australia Registration - Was quite an embarrassment, the website was sub-optimal. Please ensure this is addressed Advertising- Was minimal, needs to be more promoted. Information - More details should be given to Pilgrim Leaders

Female 24 Australia Registration - the online process did get complicated and confusing, and the help phone line seemed understaffed. There also seemed to be some serious coordination and communication issues with homestay; Travel - only had to travel around the CBD on public transport but it was very well done; Food - junk food was fun to a point, but some more healthier food would've been welcome; Facilities - worked much better than anticipated, though more (clean) toilets would've helped esp. on pilgrim walking routes. Also - more facilities for people to brush their teeth etc after spending the night out at Randwick racecourse.

Female 36 Spain regaistration online needs to be improved. but on the whole i want to commend all the organisers who did a tops job and i am proud to be australian! good on you!

Female 18 Argentina Really, organisation was extroardinary! It supasses my expectations as I had arrived to Australia prepared for chaos and confusion. I can't figure out how Aussies handled the masses in such a terrific way; I never felt such chaos nor confusion at all. Still, I wouldn't mind to have a wider food menu. I can imagine how hard it must have been to feed thousands of hungry pilgrims, but it would be great to have more diversity for next WYD.

Female 19 New Zealand Really well organised, everything ran quite smoothly it seemed. Travel, food, accommodation etc was well organised. Good having areas set out and allocated for where we were to be at big events. Good for crowd control. Organisation for food and accomodation also good. Good facilities - there were lots of places for food, toilets etc. Logistics are important for making it a good experience, done very well in Sydney. Good range of events but just not enough time and energy to do all I wanted to do, but think you did very well. Keeping popular activities happening many nights like the vocations expo was really good. Good having lots of volunteers, those pointing the way to the train stations etc were very much appreciated. Their volunteer tops were good for identifying them. Good organisation and I think the easy-going crowd made things work well.

Male 29 United States Really well done. Toilet facilities were surprisingly very nice, except for some outages during the vigil Transportation was easy and plentiful. Multiple very nice large venues kept experience from getting repetitive

Female 23 Australia really did not like walking from barangaroo to central station and couldn't get out in between if i needed to. the traffic control there i thought was a bit too harsh. The main food packet was interesting at the beginning but really hated it towards the end. otherwise it was great!

Male 20 Australia Real emphasis on mission work opportunities for young people. Emphasis of being with people.

Female 55 Canada Read the above!!! Make sure food is avaible, cause in Cologne it was hard to find, always out at certain venues. Also no charge for ANY food at days in the diocese. We could afford it, but those from the likes of 3rd world countries went hungry. (We did buy for many!!)

Female 31 Australia Re think use of Harvest Youth Tours. They were overly expensive, inconsistant and took advantage of the monopoly they were given.

Female 25 Australia Range of food was excellent, and I eat gluten free and sugar free and found plenty. It was easily accessed. I did not realize that there was heating in the first aid tents, which would have been handy, but I found it in the end. I did not realize that hot food and beverages were being served until late in the day. If I had known this before, I would have brought the hot water bottle to be filled up. I became seperated from my group. Everyone was helpful, and it was still very safe. The volunteers were really special. Travel went very smoothly. Very easy. Technology was used to best advantage in communication through the big screens, walky-talkys, and mobile phones. The registration process was difficult. The site was often malfunctioning. I had to try several times to register in the first place because the site was not operating past the homepage. I registered, and then I was not recognized when I tried to relogin. I re-entered my registration, but this caused a whole line of complications. The payment set up page was different from anything I had used on other sites. It took me a while to work it out. Other people I know experienced the same thing. There were massive problems with paying. Some said my payment did not go through and others that it had. Other people in my group were not situated near to me according to the official placings on our registation cards.

Female 26 Australia Randwick was probably not the best place for a wheelchair or mobility scooter... perhaps for Madrid try to ensure the Vigil sleepout has flat and solid pathways-- and ensure that the main pathways are kept mostly clear... it's hard trying to get through a big crowd (while using a scooter) when you're busting for the loo! :)

Female 44 Australia Queuing to pick up tickets that had not been issued correctly and then not having the same 'area allotment' as the rest of the group was very trying. Sleeping space at the Racecouse was ridiculously organised and extremely cramped. Not enough screens at the racecourse to see what was happening on the 'stage'.

Female 27 New Zealand Queues for food sometimes prevented us getting to evening events. Food was advertised as being 'gluten free' but you usually couldn't have a balanced meal without it.

Female 48 Australia Question When will our certificates arrive? I filled out the email and haven't heard anything else. Sandra, Lisa & Robert Michielin 43 Cummins st Unanderra. NSW 2526 0410066766 (m) I now had anew email: [email protected] Can you update please as I will be ceasing this address soon. Thnaks Sandra

Male 49 United States Quantas airlines was wonderful. food during WYD was ok but after 3 days of Tuna it got to be monotonous. The dome needed more police presence. There were several things that happened there that was troubling. Security at the doors really was not being followed. All of us had wrist bans but they didn't always check them. With the amount of people coming and going it was essental to make sure people were there that needed to be. I overall experience was vey good. Hat's off to Sydney for a job well done. See you in Midrid!

Male 56 New Zealand Put more effort into providing information direct to group leaders in a practical guide; computers make registration easy... use it properly and your costs for helpdesk teams will go down significantly. I am a computer professional and I was staggered at the amount

of lost opportunity to assist group leaders with the information that was asked for but became locked away as it were.

Female 33 Australia Put all australian pilgrims for the sleep out rather than in separate sections of outdoor venues.

Male 54 Australia program was too packed to allow for a focused participation. Given that we were billetted at Penrith, the travellingrequired did not leave much time to join in many other events.

Female 49 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Program of events was so much that we were not able to attend to some we wish to be part of. Communication of information was slow. Travelling all around the country of WYD should be free to all participants or at least half fare in neighboring cities.

Female 40 Australia Program of events was exhaustive and good. Travel was very smooth but would have liked more frequent night time trains. Communication from Sydney diocese around - backpacks, registrations tags, home stay required more coordination. Food was fine but by the last day did not want to see any more tuna tins.

Female 26 Zambia program of events was excellent, registration was easy and great, communication of information is good,up to date. travel arrangements were good especially the buses and trains.food was nice and enough, accommodation was great in the families.security was perfect. Thanks to all the departments, may God bless all the people who were involved. suggestions for WYD in Madrid in 2011 accommodation in the families should be maximised and encourage, days in the diocess should Not be left out. if there are some people or organisations that can help more developing countries financially in terms of travel expenses,then that will make more youths have a life changing experience at WYD. Organisers of WYDMadrid may ask some WYDSydney pilgrims to help them as volunteers. the registration of the people to be comfirmed during WYD should be extended even to small and poor countries so that they also feel part of the that one catholic family.

Male 56 Australia Program of events - very good; food and accommodation - excellent; travel during WYD - excellent; registration process - very poor: I had no confidence in the info on the registration database in my role as a group leader; the response from the WYD help desk was poor: operators had limited knowledge and email queries were rarely answered.

Male 61 Australia Program of event (I assume the main events) were good. Registration Process was hard to understand it first Communication of information. Our groups itinerary wasn't know before WYD, we had to change our catechis venue at the last week. Travel and Accomodation, We organised our own. Food and facilities at WYD events were good, water pressure at Randwick very poor resulting in 2 hour delays for hot drinks, and block tiolets

Female 52 Australia Probably make sure that your events coordinator has actually worked with large events e.g. the Olympic games. WYD is huge and needs a fully qualified organiser.

Female 24 Australia Probably just some way to make sure pilgrims interact more with each other, because a lot of the time we just ended up talking to people in our own groups with not realy a chance to interact with other groups.

Female 46 United States Priests did not have sufficient help to register to take part in events.

Female 25 New Zealand Preparation organised by the NZ Church could have been better, could have been more and started earlier

Female 32 Singapore Prefer freshly cooked warm food, a well balanced diet. Topics : Apologetics, Theology of the Body

Female 60 Australia Popes main mass on Saturday night when the youth are at their highest point of their experience. Sunday morning they were too sleepy!My grandkids are struggling with xt3.bit hard to understand.

Male 38 Australia Poor organisation and communication with volunteers

Female 16 Australia Police were way over the top. Exiting Randwick was a mess.

Male 47 United States Please, Please, Please, learn from your mistakes in terms of administration, registration and ticekting. .

Male 39 United States Please, please, please fix the on-line registration program....it was a nightmare. Please encourage the smaller catechesis sessions for Madrid 2011, they were much better than the larger sessions of previous WYDs.

Male 59 United States Please see the above statement about food concerns as this is important. The registration process was very hard to work with. Can we go back to what we used in Germany? There was a section on the registration area whre it asked if the student was under 16 and accompanied with a leader etc. Some of this for whatever reason did not work well. It did not seem to work. The problem developed only if they were a youth. Young adults were ok I believe. The VISA issues and how this worked was complicated with forms etc. We had some people who are students living here for a short time from another country--this procedure was hard to get resolved it seemed because of the forms. I liked the shorter distance to walk to the Vigil site. If for any reason you have to carry another persons supplies this can also be a long ways especially if someone has a physical handicap or ailment. On the registraion form can you include a page of some basic instructions on filling out specific areas of the form that may be more challenging? There was a line that said promote--I did not know what that term meant on the form. Thanks for all the work you did to make WYD 2008 such a success! God Bless You!

Female 14 Australia please recognise that even us younger youths care deeply about or faith, i being 14 have been impacted greatly and i kinow many people my age who dont care so to be able to talk to people who are my age and actually cared about the spiritual part of WYD and not just the social side that would be great.

Female 39 Australia Please put my name in the list for 2011 WYD in Madrid

Male 33 Italy Please provide that also who is going to be involved into the short itinerary, will appreciate a rucksack, with the need pf information to be joined and be involved to.

Male 24 Singapore Please provide materials and instructions for group sharing. That way, group leaders can lead their groups in prayers and sharing that is related to the pilgrimage. This is very important because not all pilgrim groups are as 'religious' or as 'spiritually mature' as others. Also, the Night Vigil has to be more properly planned. In terms of format and contents. Perhaps an hour of group level sharing and prayer should precede the arrival of the Holy Father. For the major masses, especially the closing mass, the music for the liturgy should be simple and easy to follow.

There shouldn't be long orchestral preludes, this can be very concert-like and not conducive to prayer in such a large crowd.

Female 30 United States Please organize volunteer duties in such a way that volunteers can rotate the performance of their duties so that each volunteer may have a chance to attend WYD events such as Catechism classes.

Female 20 Australia Please make sure that there's no more stews - it did not go down all that well for those pilgrims who were of asian background.

Female 18 Australia please make sure that the toliets at the camp out location are in working order and that we don't need to use candles to illuminate our journey in the porta-loo's

Female 59 United States Please make more information about the events and activities available to the pilgrims before WYD.

Female 21 Australia Please just don't hold WYD just for Television news purpose. We are there to pray, can't be bothered for media purpose. So, pay attention more to the pilgrim and what they feel. It is more important than how will it looks in media.

Male 24 Pakistan Please it should be open for every one. So that every person who wants to attend can attend. Thanks a lot.

Male 33 Philippines Please include topics about family, caring for the environment.

Male 54 United States Please improve the online and on-site registrations for groups and for priests.

Female 46 United States Please give many thanks to the Australian Embassy for their help with the Visas for myself and daughters. You guys are great.

Female 23 Australia please fix the registration system... its too complicated! single application form only

Male 34 Australia please finalise all arrangements, tickets, passes ETC well before the last week before this begins.

Female 32 Indonesia Please don't give the same food everyday ...he..he..he.. Thank you for your services :) Jesus loves you all

Female 16 United States Please don't change ANYTHING, the experience would not have been the same without crowded trains, sleeping on the floor, cold showers in plywood shacks, and canned tuna for lunch every day. I'm being serious. It all just made it more memorable. In a good way.

Male 46 Pakistan Please consider and provide opportunity to christian people of Islamic countries to take more participation in WYD. Specially fillfulling all obligation for visa requirement very difficult for students such as bank statement. Their should be special visa for them with limited obligation.

Female 50 Australia Please allow more time for sightseeing the host city. It is so expensive to travel, that many pilgrims felt cheated that they didn't get to see anything of Sydney. Could we

have tours that can take us to see the sights and then drop us off at an event? Plan the food so that pilgrims don't have to eat the same type of food all week. If you didn't eat canned fish in Sydney, you were very hungry! Be realistic and accurate about costs and with your advice. Most of us will be saving hard. Many pilgrims were not able to buy anything as they didn't have enough money with the exchange rate. Madrid can be really hot, so we'll all need hats and sunscreen. Sydney in winter can be cold-many were really uncomfortable as they didn't bring enough warm clothes. If we are going to be staying a long way from the city, please ensure the public transport works, and won't take us a long time to get anywhere. Some basic Spanish for particular situations or places for WYD would be helpful as we could point to phrases if we can't manage the Spanish ourselves. If they're on the website, we can start to learn these phrases. Some of us are starting to learn some Spanish just in case.

Female 22 United States Please allow more time for afternoon/evening activities. There were so many I wanted to attend, but with transit time after catechesis sessions, and other WYD wide evens, I could only make it to one event per day.

Male 30 Tanzania Please next time the system of registratin it can be more easly not like last time and the condition of visa for people from Africa please be watched its the very big charenge to us,

Male 17 Australia play a game of soccer , common its spain , they luv it:), me and my mates had a game of australia vs france, was heaps fun,organise a tournments as extra curricular acctivies.

Female 49 United Arab Emirates Pitching on the damp earth in the chilly winter dampened the spirit at Randwick Race Course. More toilets were needed at Randwick, too. Food & drinks could definitely have been better - Australia is known to have the best of fruits and vegetables! At Madrid please keep more time for interaction and exchange with the families we live with...

Male 25 Singapore Perhaps there could be proper queue lines set up at food collection points. At the Closing Mass, everyone just swarmed into the demarcated food collection area, creating gridlock, congestion and very unhappy crowds.

Male 17 Australia Perhaps provide food in a more hygienic matter and tailor the food to the customers. For example the vegetarian meal provided was one that was not proffered with in our group so perhaps I we were to say NO Vegetarian then they could have more enjoyment. 2011 is going to be much much bigger than 2008 but make sure everyone has a fantastic time. Cheers

Female 36 Philippines Perhaps in the big gatherings and concerts, pictures, images, videos of past WYD can be shown - also those of John Paul II. Official songs of the past WYD can be sung during the big gatherings. The sale of merchandise also contributed to the event's cohesion. As a professional in the field of Visual Merchandising, I would like to collaborate with WYD Madrid in setting up the official store. I'd really appreciate it if you can contact me regarding this. Thanks! and keep up the good work! My congratulations to Archbishop George Pell!

Male 18 United States Perhaps having things to do as we wait for the big attractions would help. So that time waiting does not feel like time wasted.

Male 18 United Kingdom Perhaps different WYD food in the meal for dinner, rather than a curry or a pie every day.

Male 17 Australia Perfect.

Male 61 United States paying with credit card mades things much easier. The staff was always eager to assist. I went to Sydney twice before WYD and all whom I met assisted me in getting things ready. Registereing priests was easy if you did it before the first day, after that, many had long lines. Make it possible to have a registation which didnt include dinner. Most went to dinner themselves. Porvide water as they did in Rome, for Madrid will be very hot and some may not have money to buy the water. Water was free all Pilgrim walk and at the sites.

Female 52 Virgin Islands British Particular attention MUST be focussed on the Health of Pilgrims eg. simple and necessary precautions in case of an outbreak of flu etc where persons refused to take precautions/medications and continued to be a part of a large group. This is just a cause for concern.

Female 42 Australia Overall, very well organised. Perhaps the hot meals could have been better.

Male 20 Australia Overall, the program of events went well. From what I remember, everything good that came out of WYD just overbeared whatever mishaps occured. It was one of the BEST weeks of my life. The registration process was flawless as were the travel arrangements etc.

Female 22 Australia Overall, the organisation of WYD was absolutely superb. The biggest nuisance was getting my media pass from the Media Centre at Broadway. I waited in line for four hours because the volunteers assured me there was only one line for both volunteers and media. As soon as I got to the front, the people at the counter told me my pass had been passed on to the International Media Centre in Darling Harbour, which meant I had not only wasted four hours of my time (after spending nine hours at work that day), but I had missed the opportunity to welcome the pilgrims staying at my local parish that week. Volunteers need to be kept abreast of up-to-date information AT ALL TIMES to ensure that information is filtered down to those who actually need it. Too many great events were on at the same time, so I was forced to make a compromise almost every day with which event I wanted to attend most. Similar events should be held at the same time, so it's easier to make a decision. Sometimes, seminars were on at the same time as concerts or movie viewings. How do you choose between the variety? The food provided during the first couple of days was great, but it became repetitive to the point where I almost became ill from eating the same, unhealthy junk food i.e. caramel slices, kettle chips, etc. The meat pies were great and filling. They should've been provided more often. The queues for the food were ridiculous and serious hazards to those who had to wait in line. The toilets at Randwick Racecourse ceased to flush at about 10pm and water stopped flowing from the taps. Highly unhygienic and inconvenient. The program of events was distributed too late. It created a lot of confusion as to what WYD was really about, because we didn't know what was actually being offered that week, until that week!

Female 25 Australia Overall, really well organised during the week in Sydney. I can't believe our country did it. People are going to realise how well organised Sydney was once they get to Madrid! After going to Cologne WYD I couldn't believe that the food actually existed, the public transport worked, the toilets flushed and it was so quick and easy to get places.

Female 46 United States Overall, I think they did an amazing job of hosting such a large gathering!

Female 25 United States Overall, great job team!!! The 2 World Youth Days I've been to (Rome 2000 and Sydney 2008) have both been LIFE-CHANGING experiences for me...each time because of the SIGNIFICANT spiritual experiences that have happened there, and also because of the growth experienced after coming back. One tiny question/confusion: I bought the WYD c.d., and it's great. I have 2 questions/comments about it. 1)the 1st song - Ameno - i found on youtube, and the music video is rather strange and almost seems new age. Why this song on the cd and

performed at world youth day??? (maybe i've just misunderstood it or something) 2)there were some songs (1 in particular that i've been desperately trying to find) at World Youth Day played over the loud speaker at a couple different events that were not on the cd, but seemed SO appropriate to the entire event. If you can help me find these, I would really appreciate it!!! The lyrics to one of these songs is: '...and we will pray for more of You...', sung by a guy and sound like a rock genre. The other one is sung by a girl and is not super energetic...maybe even slow; can't remember that much but i know i loved it! Thanks again for everything! God bless.

Female 50 Australia Overall the event was incredibly well organised. Just a couple of things * A local Sydney person I met at a bus stop was quite angry about the fact the local Council had locked down streets, and her car had been locked into her street and she couldn't get it out for three days so she had a bitter attack on the whole event! I sympathised greatly with her, and she ended up being o.k. but clearly, it is incredibly important that the locals, are made well aware of planning arrangements in plenty of time, so that the event has minimal disruption to their lives. * The food bags were quite sparse and boring at times. Dry buns, and not much enjoyment in them. Nice to have a sweet bar in them, but perhaps it would be good to add more fresh fruit rather than dry bread. We were okay as we also brought other food, but I did hear a few complaints around us. The way the food was given out, in groups of tickets, seemed to be well done however. *The only other thing, and no doubt you've heard it 100,000 times - is the toilet systems at Randwick. Around the city there seeemed to be enough toliet pods, but not at Racetrack. The toilets apparently ALWAYS block and overflow and become disgusting - I WOULD MAKE THAT A GREAT PRIORITY FOR NEXT TIME - SURELY THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE WHO CAN WORK OUT OF SYSTEM OF FLOWING WATER WHICH DOESN'T FAIL ON YOU AT THE CRUCIAL MOMENT. Apart from these basics, I was very impressed with the organisation, so I guess congrats to the Church and civic organisers, and to the Government departments which liaised for the planning. Well done.

Female 28 United States Overall our group had a great time. We didn't receive any information before we left about WYD events- St. Mary's Cathedral Tour, Pilgrimage Walk, events & activities going on. We left 2 weeks before WYD to do a pre-tour. When arriving in Sydney, we had a hard time receiving information. There were plenty of people to help, but none of them knew the answers we were looking for. It took us hours to get our charter bus from the airport to our lodging. We were looking forward to a few concerts, but couldn't find a schedule anywhere, and by the time we found one, we'd missed them. We spent a little bit of time in the Vocations Expo, but wanted to go back. By the time we had a chance, it was closed. Would have been nice if it was held after the Closing Mass, as that's when we finally had time to get things in. We wasted a LOT of our time in Sydney waiting for buses, leaving events in large crowds and not in the direction we were trying to go. Exiting large events- Opening Mass, Stations, Closing Mass, were VERY organized, but EXTREMELY inefficient. We spent hours throughout the week trying to exit events the way we came, and being told we were not allowed. The entire mass of people needed to leave in one fenced/barricaded route, which dumped us at bus stops we were unfamiliar with and sent is in the wrong direction, if we could ever actually find the proper bus to get on, as most were full. Since many people travel before WYD, it would be nice to receive schedules & information on events BEFORE coming. That way we can plan our time while on our way there to maximize what we can do. The food was ok, although the lines at the large events were too long. We were tempted to leave and pay for food on numerous occasions, so as not to waste time waiting. The food was also too repetitive. I can eat something not so great once. Asking me to eat it 3 days in a row... We liked the backpacks, and received a lot more information upon checking into our lodging. However, as the group leader, that meant I spent that night up late trying to read everything to plan for our group. It would have been nice to do this before leaving home. We were also told to take a tour of the cathedral we needed to have a reservation, but couldn't find out how to do that. Same with the pilgrimage walk. We also didn't receive our Catechesis location before

we left home, and it wasn't found anywhere upon checking in. Nobody could seem to tell us where to go, or when. We ended up tagging along with a group staying at our hotel to the Entertainment Center, which we enjoyed. We received tons of information from outside vendors advertising their tours, etc. before arriving, but didn't want to book anything until we had all of the options. By then, it was too late to book.

Male 29 United States Overall organization was very good. You certainly beat out Cologne. Right up there with Toronto. My only major gripe was food. At times (esp. opening Mass) we were unable to get food. Having a quarter million people and not feeding them can get dangerous! The lines were insanely long and effectively did not move. But overall, great job!

Male 21 Australia Overall organisation was perfect. well done guys

Female 20 Canada Overall it was very well organized. A priest I know who has been to many WYDs said that Sydney was the most organized. While nothing significantly hampered my experience, I do have one suggestion for set-up. At the Vigil, Confession and Adoration took place in the same tent. Volunteers at the entrance tried to create a line for Adoration and Confession, but people just ended up mobbing the tent. Plus, when I went to Confession, I was very conscious of the fact that there was another Confession happening a foot away from me, and the priest had trouble hearing me. I understand it makes sense to have Adoration and Confession in the same place, since all the priests seemed to be assigning Adoration as penance, but perhaps it would have been better to have a separate tent for Confession or have priests interspersed throughout the racecourse. I was a bit confused by some things on this survey. I thought the Church didn't oppose the death penalty in extreme cases where all other options had been exhausted and the person was still a threat to the lives of others? Though, I think Pope John Paul II said that these cases were definitely rare, if they existed at all. And I didn't think the catechesis was 'light.' In fact, one of the bishops said that he didn't think we had traveled half way around the world to hear him tell jokes the whole time. And I agree with him. The bishops gave us meaty theology to chew on, but it was still understandable. It's hard when your speaking to a large age range, but, overall, I think it worked out fine.

Female 50 Australia Overall it was a well organised event with a few problems to be expected with such large crowds. I thought the Showers were ridiculous! We looked elsewhere for these. The pilgrim food - some was ok but you need to realise that not everyone eats spicy food! We ate out a lot. The kids wouldn't eat it. The hospitality at our school was amasing - boyond the call of duty. That was indeed one of the best experiences of WYD and one that I will endeavour to emulate as we receive visitors to parish.

Male 22 Australia Overall I had a great experience of WYD. In the process however, I moved to another group which I felt more 'accepted'. I feel that the group leaders or anyone wanting to apply as a group leader should be first interviewed and given proper training. I feel this is necessary bacause although there was a very strong sense of community that can be seen in the crowds, my very own group gave me the impression that I was an outcast and unaccepted in many ways. No spiritual guidance, personal conversations or the like which others were given. I felt that this very fact have hampered the experience I had and didnt allow me to embrace the fullness of WYD. I am not sure why this is, but I suspect it is due to racism in the group as I am an international student.

Female 27 Australia Overall I felt the organisation was really great. Of course some glitches to be expected for such a large scale event, but well done. I was surprised how smoothly everything ran, especially after hearing how some people went in Cologne. I've learnt to 'offer it up' so most of the things that went wrong weren't really that bad!!!! Volunteers-AMAZING people who really encouraged us on the pilgrim walk and did a wonderful job all week with their happy smiles.

Registration process - very difficult to get help if needed. It took a long time for anyone to communicate back to us. Communication - great, however it would have been easier to plan things if we got itinerary and accomodation info sooner. Travel - I think everyone knows about the luggage problem with the buses. Probably no need to discuss further-not great to ne sleeping in freezing weather with no bedding. Food - I was surprised how well the food was organised. We never had to wait particulary long and the food was reasonable for that kind of situation. Would have liked some healthier options of snacks. Facilities - toilets were fantastic and mostly clean and there was always toilet paper!! Accomodation - we stayed at Marion College in Horsley Park - wonderful people who were very helpful. We had quite a few sick people and we were kept informed by the staff of what to do. It would have been better to have somewhere at the school for sick people to stay rather than having to leave the school for the day. Transport - as we were staying out so far (Horsley Park) there were sometimes problems with the buses in the morning - not enough/frequency

Female 37 Australia Overall good organisation ensure in Madrid English speakers are readily available for those who can't speak Spanish.

Female 48 Canada Overal, the organisation for WYD 2008 was great! I was so impressed with the set up of catechesis, transportation, the dispersal of people back to the train station following the final mass. The set up for entry to the main events was very well done, with people knowing where they were going to be located. However, accomodation and food were really lacking. We heard of many people who had volunteered to host people in homes who ended up having no one while so many of us were accomodated in schools, leading to a lot of sickness. Additionally, the food situation was terrible. The meals were high on junk food--chipped, flavoured sweetened waters, cakes, etc--and very low on protein. The organisation of food distribution at the large venues was really lacking--members of our small group ended up going into the kitchen and helping out for hours because there was no official volunteer help. The food packages given at Randwick ws terrible--to think we had to live on that for over 24 hours was really bad. The only protein was a can of tuna and a can of fish salad that was really not worth eating. I brought it home as a souvenir of how bad it was. At least in Cologne there was cheese and sausage--things that could be eaten! The registration process was also very unfriendly. It was difficult to know where we were in the registration process. Information I had entered was lost the next time I had checked and we never dod receive final confirmation that we were registered. Also one member of our group never did receive a visa through the registration process--we had to get that through our travel agency. As for suggestions for Spain: Get rid of the water aspect of the Papal arrival. Have all people gathered together in one place and have the Papal motorcade go through that one space, not going at speed through diverse areas. Look into alternatives for food. The format in Sydney did not work in the slightest. Find more home accomodation. Do not have Adoration from the main altar at the Vigil. Use more youth friendly music and prayer forms, especially at the Vigil. Encourage the Pope to be more involved with young people, to have more interaction with them, similar to have Pope John Paul II was. Yes, he is a different person wih different gifts. However, there has to be a level of interaction that was not visislbe with Benedict. He did not seem to greet people at all. Use Sydney's approach to transportaion--all the people used to pull it off and the firmness of instructions were well worth the final result!

Female 60 Australia Over all very well organised. I am amazed at the high quality of the food served to so many people. I fully expected only sandwiches, so, having hot food was a special treat.

Female 38 Australia Over all it was good but lacked in a few areas. Tolets and there condition and the lack of food, also avalability of coffee for the pilgrams.

Female 35 Australia Outstanding organisation except for the final mass. Excellent distrubtion of food and resources. Great passes and number allocation to events. Two areas of concerns 1. The movement of pilgrims out and away from the venue was chaos. Very disappointing. I felt very unsafe and disregarded. 2. Movement around the bathrooms on the final day was also troubling. “,"

Female 25 New Zealand out group passess arrived with some of the group in a different area, its not much use to have a pass which has chaperones in a differnt area to the kids their chaperoning.

Female 46 Australia Our parish did alot of preparation for 120 pilgrames and only 10 turned up eventually, it was a big fizzer, helpers were dissappointed because they had gone to so much trouble and wanted to be part of WYD but it didn't work out that way. working through the system it was to big. no feed back from authorities ( to busy with other things !!!! I guess) .If our family is going to Madrid WYD I would like to be in personal contact with name and numbers of organisers of where we are going to stay ( less red tape )more details. less cofusion more ????? answered quickly eg email.

Female 45 New Zealand Our main group leader took care of registrations. I found that food was good, enough, the information in the backpacks were excellent.My group was billeted out to very generous families so we were also very blessed with accommodation. Catechesis and the organisation of it was amazing.Transport in Aussie was easy and efficient. Madrid will be very different with the amount of pilgrims there.

Female 41 United States Our luggage was lost for a day and a half, that wasn't much fun, but we got through it. I would recommend to the next group going from our parish to skip the meals, I wasn't impressed by them and felt like a lot of extra money was paid for them. I know a lot of our group that never ate the meals but they were paid for with our package.

Male 34 United States Our group was not assigned the same catechetical site as the catechetical site were we assigned to provide music for. As a group leader in a foreign country I was not able to leave my teen nor did I have transpiration to do so. I was in communication with the site leader and once we were in Sydney had to inform her we could not provide music due to poor scheduling. I was told before we left when our group registration number given that they would be the same.

Female 20 Australia Our accomodation was too far out of sydney. We had to catch a bus for a half an hour, than catch a train for an hour to get into the cbd. This mean't that all the concerts were cut short for us because we always had to leave around 9pm otherwise we wouldn't be able to make it back in time. Where we stayed also had way too many restrictions. We wern't allowed curtins, we wern't allowed to charge our mobile phones or use the powerpoints for anything, we wern't allowed to do a lot of things which I know at other places they were allowed to do. Suggestions for Madrid would include accomodation closer to the city for everyone. It is not fair otherwise that some of us have to travel that far out and in each day! We wern't even late registrations, we were group 16 in the whole world and we still were put miles out of sydney!

Male 48 Australia Our accomodation in Olympic Park was basic but to a large extent acceptable. However, if I could have got hold of the guy who was incharge of ruthlessly turning the lights out and having us unpack in the dark each night, I would have had to have gone to confession. Stupid rule.

Female 53 Australia Our accommodation was great, yes there were queques but you knew that when you signed up to go down. I talk it up all the time. Well done to all involved in the organisation of WYD 2008

Female 35 Australia Other than the breakfasts, the food organisation was not good. On the day of the opening mass we attended the Queensland Gathering at the Horden Pavilion in the morning, then had difficulty getting back to the city in time for the Opening Mass. We'd planned to eat lunch at the Domain but when we got there found that the opening times had been changed as well as the food availability. The Domain had been cancelled as a venue and we were expected to eat at Barangaroo - by the time we got over there the food was closed. I was a teacher in a school group and we ended up with 30 very unhappy, hungry teenagers. We weretold at the Domain that an email had been sent to group leaders advising of the change the day before - not very useful when you're 3000km from home and don't have internet access. Also, the queues to get food were ridiculously long and totally disorganised - there needed to be a way to seperate lines to stop people queue-jumping. The 'rule' that you had to get food in groups of 6 was also ridiuclous, especially when you didn't get told it until, over an hour later, you finally made it to the front of the queue and then were turned away because you had a group of 3 or 7. I was with a group of 30 high school students and 6 adults and we were rarley in nice, even groups of 6. In the end they ate an awful lot of Hungry Jack's and McDonald's because they couldn't wait. Also, there was no way for me to eat (diabetic + seafood allergy) without buying my own food despite having been told when I filled out the forms that special diets would be catered for. Most meals were very high GI (even on a plane, when they 'lose' the meal request, I can usually pick through the regular meal to get enough low- medium GI stuff to make a meal - it was rare that I could even do that with the WYD meals) and having things like a tin of tuna as a whole lunch meant I couldn't eat at all. The students we travelled with were happy to swap food so I could get something, but we found strangers regularly walking around approaching various groups to try and swap meals because they had the same problem and, if they weren't travelling in a large gruop, they had no one they knew to swap with.

Male 15 Australia Organization with groups needs more work - lost contact with group many times. Need 'free time' w/o whole group, just a few friends to go out/go to a church/etc. Food really unorganized - walked from Darling Hbr to Barangaroo since food was out, uneven group, had to ask strangers to combine

Male 51 United States Organization was fantastic! A few suggestions to work on: 1)Pilgrim pack pick-up: It was a small site for the number of people to be processed and one of the few stations was tied up for a long time with a disorganized representative from Harvest Tours. More sites or larger ones are needed. 2)Catechesis sites: Our assigned site was the opposite end of the city from where we were staying. Please give consideration to this for ease of transportation and transport time. Also, the Madrid organizers must work closely with EWTN. That is the best global outlet to spread information and updates about World Youth Day. Start making contact NOW. Life on The Rock really is World Youth Day central.

Female 29 Australia Organising a group through the website was not always easy as the website was not always correct and, we ended up being issued with 3 less pilgrim packs than we had paid for and, had to collect these separately from the WYD office, which, after a 36 hour flight delay, was not a positive thing - especially as the WYD office was very busy with few staff and long lines - some more staff or a different way to distrubute passes etc may have made for less stress. Overall the week was good though, the group enjoying most activities, food was the only cause for concern with our group as we had pilgrims with special dietary needs who were not really catered for and we were not planning for this as we thought there would be options for vegetarians etc in the packages we paid for, some prior warning would have been useful.

Female 49 Australia Organisers really did an excellent job!

Male 16 New Zealand Organisation was very well done. The toilets suffered a bit but with so many people, I wouldn't expect them to survive.

Male 20 Australia Organisation was pretty good but obtaining a meal was at times difficult, and having to make up a group of 6 tricky. It seemed that information regarding homestays and pilgrim passports were issued at the very last minute.

Female 18 New Zealand Organisation was great, all vollenteers were fantastic. Except Police when leaving the final mass made us take a route that was 5km longer than the direct route! we were tired and cranky though which may have made the situation seem worse when normally we wouldn't care.

Male 56 United States Organisation was exceptional! Food was OK except having the stew too many nights in a row. All other aspects were 1st rate.

Female 17 Australia Organisation was excellent, however the food packs were a bit repetitive after a while. Some of the Catechesis were quite boring, except for one where Bishop Greg O'Kelly (Adelaide) spoke. The masses were quite conservative and the music hasn't really adapted to be more appealing for young people.

Female 38 United Kingdom Organisation was amazing, well done to everyone involved. Is there a way I could find out how I could help as a volunteer for World Youth Day 2011 as by then I will be too old to be youth! Please email to let me know [email protected] thank you

Male 21 Australia Organisation seemed messy. Information was given late and did not seem to be coordinated very well. Website was messy and hard to navigate. The change in design for the pilgrim registration page was frustrating, and didn't work for us since we had some problem with the payment registering properly. That said, once WYD actually started things ran (surprisingly) smoothly. Transport, events, billeting and so on all seemed to be going really well. It was just in the months before the event that organisation and communication could have been smoother.

Male 35 Australia Organisation of travel? Was there any? Travel was appalling! My group was meant to leave Melbourne at 9:30 am. Thanks to the charity of other groups finally got on a bus at 10:00pm. Then we were left without our luggage for 3 days. I have travelled all over the world on many occasions and the only time my luggage has been lost was during a World Youth Day bus trip to Melbourne to Sydney. I hope the the Spanish look after the local pilgrim's travel arrangements more capably than whoever made a mess of Melbourne.

Female 41 Australia Organisation of transport via Harvest, whilst they were extremely helpful and offered all the necessary assistance, getting the final arrangements was difficult. I don't think that those organising in Sydney took note of the fact that Victoria went on school holidays earlier than other states. As a team leader who is answerable to parents it was difficult to disseminate all necessary information to parents during the school break and this became increasingly frustrating as time went on. Showers were an issue the arrangements were rather ordinary.Needed to be set up with a lot more privacy. Whilst I understand the enormity of the task this needed improvement. Both students and staff had an amazing experience. The hospitality offered by OLSH in Kensington was outstanding. The mixing of different cultures was a priceless experience and one of the best aspects of our stay. We as Australian Catholics should be extremely proud of the WYD event. A monumental task to organise and one that was greatly appreciated by those that attended.

Male 51 Australia Organisation of and for volunteers was very poor. I stayed at Olympic Park and no arrangements had been made until the day after we arrived. Also, I was allocated to do back of house at Barangaroo but was not required. Noone seemed to have consulted the people I was allocated to. I therefore had to fend for myself and look around each day to see where I was

needed. I ended up doing crowd marshalling each day. It was still a wonderful experience for me personally but the volunteer organisation was woefully inefficient.

Male 27 United States Only setback was the packages for WYD. In the past, our group only needed passes for the week but not meals. The only option this year was either weekly passes with meals or weekend passes. We were there all week, so we would need passes for a week but no meals. This should be changed for those groups (like mine) that take care of their own meals while there but are present at all the events.

Male 51 India Online registration was not working properly and had to go through a lot of inconveniences. The payment made online was not reflecting in the web. Enquiries made took long time for clarifications.

Female 30 Australia Online Registration method was a shambles. It crashed too much and was unavailable too much. There was no way I could see on one screen the important information about pilgrims in my group eg one list at least showing name, email, phone number, payment status is essential. Our parish had to copy and paste individual pilgrim information and set up its own database - a waste of our time as we had over 600 registered pilgrims from one parish. Collection of registration passes was a nightmare. Everyone was called into one centre, small in size (making is cramped, hot and frustrating), low in staff numbers (so queues were too long for busy group leaders that had many other things to get done) and once you reached the front of the line you were told that 'contrary to the email sent out, only Package B passes are ready and you will have to set aside a whole other day to come back again and collect Package C passes'. Is it any wonder we had no opportunity to attend a single Catechesis and no time to reflect and prepare for a worthwhile Confession? From all the pre-event hype about the food it ended up being quite average. It was good having a hot dinner and thankfully eating in the dark I couldn't see what was in the slush, nevertheless food was still better than what Cologne provided. The excessive partying was horrid! And who invited Hillsong? Adoration and prayer centres should out number the party venues - sure young people had fun and a momentary high, but did the WYD organisers reach the youth on a long standing, meaningful, spiritual level? for me and my friends, i'd say 'no'. There were too many social events and locations - keep locations to a minimum so you dont have to travel far distances for events and you keep the pilgrims together. I attended superb concerts and festival performances, but attendance numbers were so disappointingly low I felt sorry for the performers! - maybe pilgrims got lost along the way? maybe they didn't know where to go? how to get there? or decided to stick with big venue events and therefore missed out on much other stuff. In summary focus on Quality and not Quantity - not everyone in the world that can play a guitar should be in the festival! Being privy to some of the official organisational aspects I saw some over the top expenses and heard awful stories from staff at the WYD office about the wastage of resources and particularly finances.... such as contractual work not being transparent/open for tenders but effectively 'given' to personal network connections. If its true or not I don't know, but where there is smoke there is fire, and even rumors of such activities hurt the Church image. Merchandise was TOTALLY OVERPRICED! shame on you organisers! God Bless Target! I got so sick of the Aboriginal element in every single official event. Where is the Catholic Church going....? what were those strange vestment designs? where were the Crosses? Iconography? May God bless the Madrid planners, organisers and volunteers. WYD is a big task but it is a spiritual event, not a party. Make it a true Catholic event and not a politically correct farcical. Bring in strong faithful Catholics to lead the preparation and direction, not an Event Manager. Pray and ask what would JPII say about this event? is this his vision? is this what the late Pope hoped WYD would become? I could go on and on, but I fear that I have said too much....

Female 27 United Kingdom One of the best parts about WYD, was the Austrlian people themselves, from those who where involved with WYD and for those who wheren't, I stay in

Australia after the event for another two weeks and spoke to lots of people who where very interested in what being a pilgrim had been like, and they where suprised that with so many young people there had been no trouble, which made me very proud of the whole event, so thank you WYD Australia! Madrid has a lot to live up too!

Female 24 Canada One of the best organized WYDs ever. I was impressed with the amount of volunteers and police who provided crowd control. I think that made the experience very pleasant (minimal pushing/shoving/people cheating lines) and made for a great experience. Good work

Female 26 Australia One negative aspect was when I dealt with a male volunteer at the call centre who was assigning jobs. When I told him I couldn't work for more than four days he was rather rude, told me I could only be given 3 days and assigned me to vatering duties even though I explained I had been a project manager for many events (I had been alloctaed as a crowd marshall previously when they thought I could work te entire week). He also questioned why I wanted to work at WYD in a somewhat antagonising manner. Apart from that, all other staff we friendly and I had a fantastic time. One other issue (as I was told several times by pilgrims) was the qaulity of the food. I did not at all mind but apparently it was a major issue for the pilgrims, inlcuding the quality and quantity.

Female 17 Australia One dissappointment was that due to such incredibly tight security all 150 members of my pilgrimage group missed out on seeing our station of the cross on the Friday of WYD. It was at the Cathedral and turned out to be the only station that the Pope was at. We were there on time, but were held in security for between about 30 - 45 minutes!!! That was the only dissappointment, and I recommend that the security measures are revised for madrid 2011 (perhaps downgraded). Otherwise everyting else was brilliantly organised and ran quite smoothly.

Female 51 United States Once again it would be hard to accomodate that many regarding food, but the food was the worst from any WYD. The same thing with tuna cans, and whatever. Many in our group would eat out, if they could afford it. Our housing site was 1 to 1and a half hours away by train and then by 2 buses. Made it very hard. They would also make us leave and then we couldn't come back until late.

Male 23 Australia On the main World Youth Day Sunday, after the main Mass, and after most people had left Randwick Racecourse, I noticed that there was so much food and bedding and tarpolines which I was told was going to be thrown out as rubbish. This was such a big waste of resources and I really wished it could have been used again- even tarpolines which have no hygiene concerns could have been reused and given to people on the streets. I was especially concerned as this was a Catholic event with many organisations present who serve the poor in close proximity.

Female 53 United States On some practical matters, as a 53-year-old woman, these things made my life much more comfortable at WYD 2008: 1) the covering of Randwicke Raceway with the flooring made the hours spent at the Vigil site bug-free and dampness free. It made things indescribably better. 2) The clean and stocked (with toilet paper) bathrooms were such a pleasant surprise. It's those little things that make for a better experience. Your infrastructure people are to be commended highly and hopefully will work with the Madrid people to make 2011 as nice. The volunteers were magnificent. It was our first WYD where we actually were able to be in our designated areas. Thanks for a wonderful WYD experience.

Male 38 Pakistan ok

Male 23 Lithuania Oh, you were the best and the biggest team I had ever met :) Thanks a lot.

Female 22 Australia nothing. thank you for everytghing and thanks for pope and the catholic bishiops in making the effort to come to australia.

Female 23 Australia nothing, everything was fantastic!

Female 29 New Zealand Nothing wrong with it in fact a really good job I only wish that I had all of my pack but other that it was excellent.

Male 43 Canada Nothing special for today. Thanks.

Male 48 Australia Not very family friendly...no discount or acknowledgement of family groups. Registration was very messy and confusing...too many screens and rigmarole.

Female 24 Singapore not so much of events plz, as we would miss the majority of them as the timing is very closely or happen at the same time.

Female 47 Canada Not now. mMybe later on. I am tired now for this...... need to think it about. thank you.

Male 33 Australia Not enough large screens for the back areas at Randwich. For those who registered for the weekend, as we live in Sydney therefore do not need to have lodging and food provided for. However, we did not received the Festival Guide, which should be provided in the registration packet, that would be helpful for finding a Catechism Site near where we live and or Festival sites and schedule. Some of us have go to the City and find the information booth for this Guide.

Female 39 Australia Not enough events for family with children to celebrate with youths. Families can be made up of mix age children. It would be good if there were programs that allow youth to do activities with younger age children to celebrate faith. More events organise at local parishes like gathering nights to welcome and then farewell pilgrims. Activities for visiting pilgrims to mingle and share with locals their culture.

Female 19 Qatar None.

Male 28 Ireland None

Male 29 Australia none

Male 22 Nigeria none

Male 28 United Kingdom NO WAY TO (selectively) UNSUBSCRIBE FROM EMAILS, especially after WYD is over!?!?!? Surely it is best practice to include an 'unsubscribe' link to mass emails? Although actually IDEALLY, I would like to SELECTIVELY unsubscribe - I ****DO**** value the chance to participate in surveys like this, so I'm glad I got that particular email, but I DO NOT want to get any more promotional emails about more merchandise / souvenirs on sale.

Female 19 Australia No negative feedback from me, all positive, no complaints whatsoever, just very happy i was apart of this journey and the whole experience. Thanks!

Male 17 New Zealand No more packet curries!

Female 22 Australia No issue really - remarkably well organised given the amount of people. However, I was there for just the weekend and the food was quite feral! Too much sweet and salty food. I was actually craving something healthy by the end of it!

Female 60 Canada No complaints about the program of events. Food stations were not very visible and labelled that most pilgrims line up for hours at one kiosk when there were supposedly others available and no people lining up there. Two occasions, we had to walk around and around the train stations, which we understand was to avoid clogging/bottleneck at the train stations - but it was very tiring - but we all managed.

Female 30 Philippines No Comment. Perfect Program in WYD 2008. I hope I can join WYD in Madrid, or I can be a part of service team, but I dont know how will it be. Pls pray for me.

Male 16 Pakistan no

Male 31 India Next Time, please provide a better Online Registration and payment system

Female 17 Australia Next time better organisation of the crowd? My friends and I had to wait 1 and a half hours to get into the festival in the first few days of WYD and then left because we were tired to being pushed and told off. We did not experince the true essence of WYD that night. Hope that that instance doesnt happen in the furtue! thanks

Female 16 Australia Next time a place with indoor showers would be good, not little threee- people wooden cubicles with limited hot water in the middle of the courtyard where people eat their meals.

Female 16 Australia never trust melbourne with baggage and busses EVER again.

Female 33 Australia Needs to allow volunteers who want to do only weekends to do so! Come the fianl mass we were so overwhelmed, I volunteered to do double shifts to help out and relied heavily on the Holy Spirit to keep me going! Was awesome otherwise! Keep up the great work! Amen and God Bless!

Female 21 Malaysia need to simplyfy the admistration process so that more people may join WYD

Female 33 Australia need more volunteers to help the youth from multi-nations^^

Female 15 Australia Need more variety in the food. (e.g. the saucy meats weren't very nice)

Male 25 India Need more eloborate arrangements for sound system and positing of big screens to good viewing of the main events.The officla programs would include the blessed place of the location so that all pilgrims will make a visit to the place.for eg,i was not aware of blessed mary mackilop church until the final day,so was not able to make it there.

Male 46 Australia Need a decent registration & volunteers database. Registration staff should have a variety of the main language groupings to be able to serve better.Try and keep the organisation on an equitable and fair footing. Looking after mates first left a bad taste in peoples mouths.

Female 37 Australia ncourage more face to face interaction and opportunities to meet other singles."

Female 17 United Kingdom n/a

Female 56 Australia Myself and so many others were forced to learn new skills (e.g. computer) which we can use post WYD and help in the mission of the church. Toilet facilities can always be improved. Registration process was awkward/not very efficient. People were having to sit at the computer for extended lengths of time just to get registered.

Male 20 United States My Youth Group Leader took care of all of that, but for the next one I may do it all my self. I hope it is easy enough for me to do. Other wise I will give all of my informatioin to my Youth Group leader and she will help me.

Female 22 Australia My WYD group and I ate beef stroganoff EVERY night of the WYD week - that was all that was given to us at the food tents. Our group leader was allergic to the ingredients and so she had to make other arrangements for dinner every night, despite the fact that the WYD food menu was meant to be varied and cater for vegetarians and people with allergies. This is my only criticism of WYD08.

Female 37 Australia My only 'thing' would have been the cost for the weekend only... oh, and the coffee... very watery and flavourless for the price paid for it... and waiting for it... but, as someone said in the queue... we are on a pilgrimage... we should not complain (I was bored waiting in queue and had a whinge, then a girl pulled me 'in line!') And, I am sure many have already mentioned this, but the toilets and lack of water on Sunday. And... leaving Randwick on Sunday... waited about 30 minutes in the one crowded spot before exiting Randwick. Very congested... but probably unavoidable. I hope they will do something like Days in the Dioceses in Spain for 2011... I think that had a great impact on the pilgrim group we hosted... and a way to acclimatise to the country/environment... I am sure it helped the foreign pilgrims who came to Melbourne. And I think it would help me 'prepare' myself on the way to WYD in Madrid. Otherwise... it was an amazing experience!

Female 30 India My only feedback is that since the event was during the australian winter, it dwas difficult for many of us from overseas. Sleeping in the gyms during the cold was tough and resulted in many of us having severe cough and cold.

Female 30 Australia My only concern, is that not enough people know about this event. If WYD wasn't in Australia, I would not have known about it. I had never heard about WYD before, neither did a lot of members from my church. I also believe leading up to the event, it should be publicized much more. I know in Sydney, there were many signs in the city, but other then that you didn't hear much about it. Thats where non believers need to be given the opportunity to hear about it and hopefully get to know Jesus.

Female 48 Australia My only concern was that at the Closing Mass the 'toilet facilities'were not working and the lack of water needs to be looked at in terms of hygiene and people getting sick. There were long queues which annoyed some- for me it was just another opportunity to thank God for all his blessings upon us. I was grateful for what we were given to eat which is far more than many see in their lifetime. Perhaps there was a little too much wasteage at times.

Male 35 United States My only comment is on the design of this survey. There was one item that asked you to check up to three boxes. The last box was essentially 'other'. Your survey design had a bar such that if one checked the 'other' box, then that was the only box that could be checked. I would have checked 'other', Sydney, and just being with my group. Also, some questions were phrased in ways that are hard to answer (or possibly my responses will be misleading) because I am

a priest. Perhaps the 'roles in the Church' question could have been asked earlier to serve as a filter. The survey also took longer than I was expecting, but it's quite good otherwise. I hope this helps you with the 2011 survey! :)

Male 44 New Zealand My one advice for Madrid, get WYD 08 organisation team to help you out. They did a fantastic job. Well done Australia!! you showed the world that you can handle anything. Secular events as well Spiritual events.

Female 56 Afghanistan My husband and I would really like to go as volunteers but we dont know how to go about it.

Female 24 Australia My group was small and not attached to a school group or anything like that. Our parish also wasn't very supportive of the event. We felt a little left out of the loop in the lead up and I spend a lot of time online reading up on things to make sure my group didn't miss out on anything. I think we still may have on some things in Sydney, so instead we just went to the main things and spent time on our own.

Male 24 United States My group never learned of a place that we could do the Catechesis. It was a little confusing getting our books and information at the beginning. Other than that, I think everything went about as smooth as possible considering the number of people WYD was working with.

Male 27 United States My group found the registration process at WYD difficult. We tried to locate our check-in station, but it was very difficult to find anyone who knew where it was. Also, I thought the website was somewhat difficult to use. It was not up to modern corporate standards, at least. Finally, I wish there was something to do on Saturday besides the Evening Vigil. If I go back to WYD, I will probably find something else to do on Saturday.

Female 25 United States My group did not get the concert guide until about Friday so we missed out on a lot of events. It would be nice to have that easier and possibly an event at the catechetical sites each day in the afternoon so groups can just stay there to participate in more events.

Male 27 Kuwait My Experience at the WYD will be really more refreshing and I look forward to some spanish speaking people

Female 55 Australia My congratulations and sincere thanks to all the organisers of WYD EVERYONE ALL DEPARTMENTS did a fantastic job - WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!! ROLL ON MADRID SEE YOU ALL THERE

Female 26 Papua New Guinea My comments I'll mainly base on food, in Madrid 2011, can we have a lot more food tents so at least everyone won't miss out on most things. Thank you..all the best in the organisation of WYD 2011!

Female 26 United Arab Emirates My biggest regret about WYD08 is that i was unable to make the most of the time after the morning cathecesis. On most days, by the time my group and I made it to the program of our choice, it was over. :-( I'm most especially dissapointed that I didnt know Christopher West was there, and so missed his sessions. I would suggest that the pilgrim's kit includes a list of programs that we can attend. Something else that would really help is that this list of programs has some sort of description next to it, because not everyone would have known who Fr Stan F or Christopher West is, and yet, these programs would have been one that would be most helpful to a particular pilgrim's spirituality. And finally, I think involving non-catholic (but Christian) elements (such as Hillsong) in the event was just great!

Male 38 United States My #1 suggestion is to have guts to say that we belong to Jesus and that we are Catholic.

Male 17 New Zealand Music that appeals to Youth. E.g Rock, Indie. Not classical. Get in famous christian rock bands.

Female 24 Australia Much of the food like the curries and stews was spicy/ hot - I didn't mind it but many of my poor friends couldn't take the spicy food.

Female 25 New Zealand Movement of crowd can be better organised with allocated lots & spread location

Male 27 Australia Mostly everything is fine. The registration process and the re-registration is a little bit confusing. Facilities in Randwick was far better than I expected, I could say very good. The atmosphere of DID in Melbourne seems not to be very good, although all was perfectly planned. I have heard about the DVD, but it seems it does not cover all. If possible, I would like to get the full DVD of Receive the Power Concert, which seems not included in the DVD pack, as well as the theology of the body.

Female 18 United States Most things ran fairly smoothly. The biggest problems were with luggage transportation, food, and bathrooms. We were in Melbourne for DID and our luggage did not exactly follow us to Sydney for a few days. I believe that happened to some other groups as well. The food was pretty good, however, the lines were so long that many people were not able to get food and so had to seek out other sources. Also, as much as I love tuna, it is not healthy for anyone to have it more than once or twice a week at most because of the mercury content. I realize food options are limited, but things like tuna really should be rotated, so more options for food should be investigated in the future. The bathrooms were... rather unsanitary to say the least, and quite dirty. Yes, it is a pilgrimage, but with huge international crowds, viruses, infections, and the like can spread very quickly so sanitary conditions are crucial! Plus, particularly at the Vigil, the water tanks were emptied rapidly resulting in lots of backups in the line, toilets not flushing, no water for hand-washing, etc. And there was an undersupply of toilet paper, paper towels, soap, etc. All these things are very fixable, I believe and I would love to see them improved in the future. But all in all I was quite impressed with the management, organization, and execution. Running an event for over half a million people is certainly no easy task and there will always be flaws. God bless the coordinators and volunteers who worked so hard to make this beautiful pilgrimage a success!

Female 44 Australia Most of the facilities are great and there are a lot of great effor tbehind the scene. May be just ensure toilets and hygienic facilities in the Warrick farm better prepared as the plan was considered sufficient but as > half out of order then people have to queue up However, it seems that people are not taking that inconvenience as very negative. Plus we were told that it was much better prepared than the event in Germany - that means the organiser did do a lot of homework

Female 16 Australia more toilets at the venues, and better information/ directional facilities, especially at the main mass

Female 17 Australia More toilet paper needed in the portables at Randwick. The food was good- hardly anyone complained

Female 23 United Kingdom More time for self reflection throughout the day.

Female 27 Philippines More time for catecheses and prayer in the morning. In our case, it took us more than 1 hour to travel from our place to the city or to the site of the activity. I felt the longing to spend more time in prayer but due to tight schedule. I felt tired in the evening to do reflection and prayer at night even though i want to, i had to sleep early because i dont want to miss the morining Catechesis, which i lke best.

Male 16 New Zealand More styley tops in muchandise

Male 32 Sudan More rosaries prayers will be important. marchandises prices should be not very much expencieve,because we need to promote our event and our faith to those who are still in darkness.

Female 19 Canada More palatable food! Faster and better organized departure from the Closing Mass.

Female 21 Australia More paid or staff positions needed to be in place before and after World Youth Day. Organisation wasn't quite up to scratch and put a lot of strain on those who had volunteered much of their time to make it happen in their parishes and communities. Many of us had taken on what felt like an additional part time job. Egeria was a major problem, and as a result I took days off work (and forfeited much needed income as a student) just to trouble shoot and fix issues. I missed out on sleep during the week to fix Egeria problems for the weekend package. It would have been great if there was funding or training for someone based at the parish to field questions or help with simple registration. I was always making phone calls to find out things that should have been outlined to us, for example we needed to chase up late passes, back packs, find out if any extra buses had been allocated by the bus company. A lot of time was wasted just being on hold and then not getting a sufficient answer. Now that it's over, many of us are burnt out or are busy catching up on aspects of our lives that had been neglected. Having funding for youth ministry or more WYD staff to help organise beforehand would have really changed the outcome. Now I feel that there aren't enough labourers to reap the harvest of World Youth Day, and that we may miss out on this opportunity as interest and enthusiasm fizzles out. In having said all of this, I was impressed overall at what we were able to pull off in Sydney. If I'd attended just as a pilgrim I'm sure I would have loved everything about WYD.

Male 37 Australia More organision in home stay

Female 29 Australia More organised for pass and packs. Better looking bagpack?

Female 17 Australia More options on for the night time for young people that cant get into clubs and bars ect

Female 46 Trinidad and Tobago More opportunities for pilgrim groups to share peculiar aspects of their faith.

Male 30 New Zealand More healthy food to keep strength up. (I fended for myself tho)

Female 16 Australia More free time would be great, i did feel like it was flat out. And, for those who have travelled long distance, it might be worth it to make it longer, you know, 8 or 9 days rather than 6 or 7.

Female 17 United States more concerts with praise and worship songs were people can pray through prayers.

Female 58 Australia More communications of the whole process and events up front would have been more beneficial. Overall considering the magnitude of the event, I feel it went very smoothly and well run. Some mention should be made to also encourange 'non youths' to attend. There were a lot of older people that would have liked to attend but thought that they could not attend because they did not qualify as 'youth'. Good survey! Well done to the developer!

Female 17 Australia more christian music concerts

Female 56 Australia Minimising time spent on cues. Sorting cues to facilitate movement. More admin workers to process cues.

Female 48 New Zealand Mind boggling great organisation. Leaving Randwick Race course perhaps could have been done in sections or loud speakers instructing people when to attempt to leave according to the queues. That was the only time I felt unsafe when we were waiting to get out and the gates were locked and we were crammed in and people were pushing from behind. We would have been happy to sit and wait inside the racecourse if we had known there was to be such a hold up.

Female 43 Australia Meals: Dinner vochers were for a location a significant distance away from our Youth Festival event, there simply wasn't time for the presenters to stand in line with other pilgrims, eat dinner, and then try and reach the venue by public transport. And pilgrims seemed to stay where the food was which made it virtually impossible for pilgrims to reach the event location (if it wasn't near Barangaroo). Would suggest that all events be located very close to each other. Youth Festival Application Process: Approximately 10 weeks before the event all participants in the Youth Festival were required to sign a performance deed and agree to terms and conditions that were not made available as part of the application process. The terms were quite restrictive and many were surprised that specific permission had to be granted to allow things like, the distribution of Holy cards, taking photos of one's own event etc. At a time when we should have been spiritually preparing for the event we were forced to enter into discussions which became far too legalistic. There was too much concern about event sponsors and their potential 'clash' with WYD sponsors. WYD Patrons: Would have liked to see a presentation by the patron representatives (i.e. the religious orders) together with a relic presentation to the Cardinal and together with youth testimonies relating to the specific patron. Stations of the Cross: Was advised by a WYD manager that a short film was going to be played prior to every station of the cross on the big screens. The film was never shown and after the event the manager advised that he did not know what happened. So there was apparently a communication problem. Many were disappointed as this film was about the message of God's mercy. WYD Website: The website was really well done. The disemination of information and online shop worked very well. The religious merchandise was very tasteful, especially the wooden WYD cross replica; rosary beads; and the patron medals.

Female 56 Australia Meals especially lunch were hard to access, especially when we had to be at different places each day and meals were only served from a specific time onwards, which didnt allow meal collection before having to be at some other venue!

Male 31 India Me and my team were actively involved in various evenst for WYD08, it was a very tedious process to get initial info of how to get involved. It will be nice if there is info on the web site on the various ways those devoted to evangelisation can support WYD

Female 19 Guam Maybe the list of events given in that big sheet of paper in the backpacks would have been more helpful if it was given to the group leader before the actual WYD. Travel, food, and accomodation was very good. What we missed out on the most was Morning Catechesis.

Female 18 Canada Maybe switch up the food choices a bit more.

Male 16 Australia Maybe preheat all food 15-20 mins before theyre required to prevent HUGE queues. Also look into all pilgrims coming to WYD to ensure that they are not white supremists, anarchists, emos, manic depressants, crybabies, or bullies.

Male 21 New Zealand Maybe if the mass could be made more reverent particularly during holy communion, a suggestion i herd was for priests to be saying mass at the same time as the pope at various places throughout the crowd, and have people receiving communion from those places, maybe even having people receiving communion at those places after the official mass had finished.

Female 20 Canada Maybe having designated transportation from the airport to host locations, instead of finding our way in an unfamiliar city. Preparing hosts/ host families for what occurs and that we are youth. There were some difficulties with 'curfews' and a host family, and we were unable to attend some big events because our hosts wanted to spend more time with us.

Female 17 Australia Maybe for Madrid11 have some more toilets at a vigil...or some more maintenance staff.

Female 35 Australia May the accommodation in Madrid be as good if not better than Sydney. Most of the issues I noticed was the lack of bathrooms. Even so..that's part of adventure and sacrifice that is worth doing. See you all fellow pilgrims in Madrid. Lookign forward to it already...it's some kind of a fever for everyone right after the event.

Male 17 Australia Masses every morning after Catechesis are not necessary - Catehcises was fantastic, masses ruined it, especially for Non-Catholics. Food lines were terrible and highly disorganised, and better accommodation for school pilgrims should be looked into. We had 6 showers for 400 people, and there were far too many sleeping in classrooms together.

Male 19 United States Mass with a full orchestra and opera singers was wonderful, but perhaps in Madrid it would be pertinent to have more upbeat praise and worship style music as well since it is a youth event.

Male 33 Australia Many people have said to me that World Youth Days are the ultimate proof of the existence of God: given the lack of organisation in some key areas, things should be going wrong left, right and centre; but through the action of divine providence they don't. In some respects, this was true for WYD 2008. The lead up to WYD was a complete shemozzle: our parish only got motivated at the last minute and most of the organisation was done by the parish secretary and one young person, neither of whom were very good at sharing the enormous workload with others. This meant that some things didn't get done or only got done in a half-arsed fashion. The diocesan level organisation was woeful: we only found out when we were leaving for Sydney three days before, we didn't know where we were staying until 10 days before and we didn't know when we were coming back from Sydney until 7am on the morning of the final mass (and even then it wasn't certain). The parish who hosted us did a fantastic job - two thumbs up for them. The catechesis was pretty well organised too. Transport was pretty smooth once you worked out how the system worked. Food was generally edible and sometimes quite nice, though on a couple of occasions we had to go to three distribution points before we got any. At the major events (with the exception of the final vigil and mass) there were heaps of volunteers. There were enough toilets at all venues. The only time I felt I queued too long for food/drink was trying to get a coffee on the morning of the final mass - people were up and ready for coffee by 7am but most of the coffee

places didn't open until 8am. The media made a big deal about the lack of privacy in showers beforehand but it wasn't really too bad. Probably the worst thing that was directly under the control of the organisers in Sydney was the online registration: it was slow, kept dropping out and didn't really tell you whether you'd successfully registered or not.

Male 28 Ireland Many people had come down with the flu by the time of the all-night vigil. This probably won't be a problem in Madrid but the cold in Sydney did not help us and our flu was caused by extractor fans being left on overnight in the gym we were sleeping in bringing in cold air from outside. An oversight not to be repeated...

Female 54 New Zealand Many of the Pilgims commented that Sydney was a safe city & much organised e g foods, travel, events etc. Is the next one will be the same? Can there be more chance that the Pope be visible or get near by many? Suggestions . . . to have different menu by everyday and more of vegans please. Can the foods be properly heated as we ate our pies so hot but as it goes to middle 'twas terribly frozen. Can the WYD mechandise be an affordable amount especially for students (only) like us?

Female 17 Canada Make venues so that all pilgrims can see. At Randwick Racecourse, i was at the VERY back and couldn't see anything...but the screens were helpful!

Female 43 Australia Make the invitation wider to include over 35s. Toilet faciitities at Randwick after the water was unavailable required better backup systems. The final Mass was not designed for the Youth of the World, rather for the dignitaries and religious leaders. It was too old. This is the culmination of a week-long youth festival. Make it more lively.

Male 61 New Zealand Make sure youth are more involved in the key Masses - the final Mass should have had more Youth participants and Youth music.

Male 18 Australia MAKE SURE THE CHOIR CAN PARTICIPATE IN WYD! Don't simply sideline them in the assumption that they enjoy sitting in a rehearsal hall for hours while the rest of the city is enjoying the festivities and spiritual celebrations of the event.

Female 26 Canada Make sure that if you don't have a priest with you to pick up your back packs the lay leader can.

Male 52 New Zealand Make sure everything in terms of infrastructure is organised and in place before they go public with the details. That gives us confidence....especially in Spain where language is an added challenge for us.

Male 30 Australia Make places, churches regularly available for silent prayer and Adoration near the main areas people are around (that is to say near festival type areas with a range of different activities and events). Make these always, or nearly always available to pilgrims, at times that don't vary from day to day, so people can just go there to pray at any time without being locked out either by events in that space or by 'opening hours'. Put food where the people are. Minimise detours for walking to and from events. At least make known in advance when detours are needed for crowd control/ crowd safety before or after events.

Male 21 Australia MAKE IT LONGER!!! WYD IS SIMPLY TOOO SHORT

Male 32 India Make better arrangements for disabled

Female 22 New Zealand Make avaliable meals for those with allergies or dietary requirements such as gluten free, nut free, lactose intolerant etc, and possibly (although not as important as health related diets) vegetarian options

Male 16 Australia MADRID HERE WE COME!

Female 22 Australia Luggage should not be carried on a separate bus. We should be able to travel with our luggage that way it won't be stolen.

Female 60 Australia Luggage delays and lack of medication. Luggage must travel with pilgrims. Elderly should not be part of parish group, slows whole group. Being their guide I missed so many things. Handicapped must be accompanied by someone who knows and understands them as the additional stresses of crowds, delays, tends to cause behavioral problems. Long distance disabled must be informed of all details, with maps etc. ahead of time. Unbelievably volunteers at Randwick gates did not know where the disabled area was, so we slept on some grass we found.

Female 26 Australia Loved WYD 2008. There may be improvements in the food given. I was still hungry. Otherwise the music was great atmosphere was cheerful and reverent. The holy spirit was definatly present. Well done

Female 17 Philippines Loved it. :)

Female 45 United States Looking forward to going to WYD Madrid, if God permits. Please email us updates and possibly financial commitments, so we can start preparing. It really does take 2-3 years to save up! Looking forward to hearing back from your team. Thank you once again and God bless you all!

Female 28 Malaysia Long queue for food. Other than that, it's very good! Well done, Sydney team!

Female 51 Australia Local pods, during weekend, led to segregation and local youth needed to be more immersed in other cultures, which are at times, more able to be open and enthusiastic about their faith. Don't use this time to showpiece the local churches- avoid too much pomp and present a real church to the youth. Young people have big appetites- the food during WYD weekend was awful. Post WYD contact with Egeria and problems was very poor.

Female 41 Australia Life - Spain has new laws which allow abortion. ACT has laws that allow abortion up to the day before birth; Victoria has new liberal abortion laws; Highlight the laws of each country. Most Catholics do not know them. Obama voted for all the anit life legislation, including partial birth abortion. Ask anyone about that????

Female 17 Australia let people visit their freidns in other pods.

Male 23 Australia Less junkfood!

Female 60 Australia Language barrier will be a problem in the next venue. I speak a bit of Spanish so I am sure I will survive if I get to Madrid. Can I be a volunteer? Please let me know when to register for this. Thank you. Hasta la vista. Adios.

Female 29 Singapore Kudos to the whole committee! It was well organized, planned and executed. They made sure the pilgrims will feel the warmth and joy WYD brings. The experience inspires me to plan as early as now for the WYD in Madrid.

Male 36 Pakistan Kindly allow most active catholics around the world to enter allow visa

Male 21 Malaysia Keep up the good work... very well organized!

Male 46 Philippines keep up the good work, excellent and very organize, God bless you all

Male 30 Australia keep it spirituly, physiaclly,mentally pure about god, lord jesus and the romancatholic representaion of it and watch full eye on every one present to practice it

Female 48 New Zealand Keep it as simple as possible, keep it an evet that removes young people from everything they are familiar with and puts them in a place where they are going to come close to their limits whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. keep it as much as possible non commercial. Make sure you bring as many people as you can from the less developed nations

Female 49 Micronesia Just wanted to thank all the organizer for a very hard job well done.

Female 46 Canada Just to work the bugs out of the computer registration site and when we arrived we needed backpacks to have access to transport and meals so that could have been done better (not sure how - all packs at parishes not at accomodation sites?

Male 54 Australia Just to please have adequate areas where lost or seperated pilgrims can meet at special events, and that those areas are clearly identified on maps etc.

Female 21 Australia Just the toilets at randwick were gross. And also we needed like outdoor heaters or something.

Female 39 Australia Just that the available transport should have been more advertised and food should have been available on the last mass day for those that didn't sleep there, which seemed to be thousands of people. I hate to think all our hampers were thrown out !!!

Female 61 Australia Just thanks and congratulations to ALL

Female 19 New Zealand JUST SOME BETTER FOOD WOULD BE GOOD...FREE LANUGUAGE CLASSES FOR THE PILGRIMS?

Female 34 Australia Just make sure all pilgrims are well attended in their food needs never ran out of it and never offer food prone to spoilage.

Female 43 Philippines just like to suggest that cathechetical sites should be near the center of activities. it seems that we consume our time travelling going to and fro. thank you. GOD bless an d more power!

Male 19 Australia just keep what we have got in wyd2008

Female 17 New Zealand Just have better queuing systems for food!!! SO people have to stand single file, there's no pushing, it's safer, easier. There were no ropes or boundaries and everyone just crowded and pushed.

Female 26 Philippines Just a comment on the food distributed during dinner. Maybe next time there can be a choice of food for Asians, Vegetarians and other types depending on the expected pilgrims and that it would be a different menu for each day. As I have observed a lot of the food

served especially after the first day were wasted, excessive, some were not eaten as they cannot tolerate the gullash type of cooking, while some were not eaten because it was the same food served almost every night.

Female 57 Australia I've probably mentioned it all previously...... actually, the program of events was rather full-on and gave choices. Our group wanted to go to 'everything' on the program and with limited resources eg. guides/leaders, it was an impossibility though all concerned pitched in and we managed to be the best we could be for the Youth Group/Family Group and for God. Congratulations to everyone - from our team of 5 leaders/guides/youth/family members, to the wider teams and all the players who participated in and for the event, especially those behind the scenes and all the volunteers. Thankyou for the opportunity to reflect, as well as the open hospitality of the Sydney-siders and all who worked to attain the end result and the continuing faith development of our young people...... God bless you all.

Female 25 Canada I've never had so much sugar as I did during that week. Our lunches had chocolate bars, pop, tim tams, lamingtons, cupcakes, tuna and bread. No fruits or vegetables until the end of the week. What did we pay for? By the end, we did not pick up our lunches anymore because it was so full of sugar!!

Male 21 Australia Its well organised, I cant think of any inefficiencies, perhaps the benefits are so much more than the little sacrifices involved!

Male 20 Philippines It's amazing how the organisers come out with the events, registration, and everythings, cause for me controlling the big crowd is extraordinary job to do...It's the best I wish there are some department or organization that reach the different youth sectors that really want to be part a 'very moving event' like world youth day... so they will able to know what the reality before they past... I want to help if ever my suggestion will be heard. Though not financially but i will put my heart and passion on it.

Female 43 Australia It's a mammoth task to stage an event this big. Overall there is little to remember of the 'bad' things that could have been done better as they faded quickly into the background of what was achieved and experienced. Thank you.

Male 24 Australia Its a fantastic event however it was way to comercialised. I could not afford to go. My parish priest Fr Albert paid for me and i still haven't been able to pay him back. I-witness again costs alot of money. Alot of the talks from Pope Benedict were difficult to hear and understand. Crowd control was excessive, i was on crutches and for the last part of the event on a wheel chair and was held up for long periods of time stuck in crowds when all i needed to do was cross 2metres of bitumen to get closer towards the gate where my group were. The bags were cheap and didnt last very long, a waste of money they were probably made in china as well which isn't so kool. Some groups got the world youth day right i.e ACU in strathfield they had activities kids and adults could enjoy. The Catechisis was good. Too many people were iterested in picking up and i did not see a great deal of prayer from sydney people anyways. Also maybe try and get the Christian Rapper Lecrae and his crew for madrid for the kids, and if possible pay for seven sorrows to get back together for a world youth day gig.

Male 26 Italy Italian language please

Female 27 Australia It would have been much, much, much better to get the program of events that came in the pilgrim pack earlier. I missed out on going to so maany wonderfu youth Festifval events bacuse I didn't reailise they were on - I didn't have time to study the guide in depth! Also, if I'd had it earlier, I could have worked out the travel logistics to get to events. Since most pilgrims

were recieving regular updates though their email, I can't see how it would have been hard to send out the program beforehand. On that theme, I really had no idea what the 'youth festival' that kept getting mentioned before WYD actually was.... this was a very exciting part of WYD for me - the talks, the concerts, the adoration, the gathering together - if I had more information about what the Youth Festival actually was beforehand, I would have planned differently. Other than that, WYD rocked!

Female 49 Australia It would have been helpful to have the programme of events before we arrived in Sydney so we could work out what activities we could go to as a group or subgroups. my problem with WYD was with our own group who were disorganised and clueless- not with the organisation of WYD- it was so much better than Rome in 2000- I suppose one thing that might be worth considering would be to have some basic language classes for pilgrims for Madrid so that it would make it easier- start early and in 3 yrs, the pilgrims could be reasonably comfortable in another country.

Male 38 United Kingdom It would have been helpful to have a team working night shift considering the time difference b/n Australia and the rest of the World as it took about 2 days for (email) communication to reach me.It was quite chaotic at the office In Sydney when pilgrims went to get their passes and packs, and the same applies to the opening mass when pilgrims were making their way to Barangaroo. And finallly at the vigil mass, the area I was allocated had more people than space and the volunteers did not want to know when I and others asked them if we could be allowed to move to an adjascent area that was un-occupied. A tiny bit of understanding and common sense would have helped a lot. Otherwise, overall, it was a well organised event, kudos to you guys (I still cannot believe we had flush toilets, could you please ask the Madrid team to aspire to the same standard ;-)

Female 40 Philippines It would have been great to have an adoration room and/or a reconciliation center near the volunteer accommodations! I stayed at the Sydney Olympic Park and I was always working during the morning catechesis time. I wanted to go to daily mass and I was a bit disappointed that most churches only had the Mass like at 10 or 11 am within the morning catechesis. I found out about St. Patrick's church by chance - they were the only ones with lots of daily masses that I could attend before or after my shift. So having several Churches maintain their regular mass schedules would have been good, or maybe a page in the information booklets could have 'advertised' St. Pat's - schedule, how to get there etc. Another small gripe - or maybe I just wasn't paying attention - I put off going to St. Mary's Cathedral thinking that I could go anytime during WYD. It just did not occur to me that it would be completely off-limits once the Papal events started. I went a couple of times when it should have been open (according to the schedules), but it closed early because they had to fix stuff for the next ceremony (or something). The flush toilets were fantastic! I was raving about them - so impressed... at Barangaroo and in Randwick racecourse. But in hindsight, maybe pilgrims in the middle of the racecourse didn't know or realize where they were? I was on duty at the gate near the toilets from 9pm to 4am and not that many people went, compared to the queues to the porta-loos within the racecourse. Maybe each portaloo area should have a 'Loo map' so that you can focus on looking for another toilet area, and not have to decipher all the info on the standard maps. We also felt sorry for the hungry kds prowling for food or a hot drink after the vigil. The food tents closed shop early. Lastly: I think we're very very fortunate to have two very holy and admirable Popes in our lifetime. I hope that WYD in Madrid also helps strengthen our union with the Holy Father, whoever the successor of St. Peter will be in 2011.

Female 27 Australia It would have been good to have the light rail included in the travel pass

Male 25 Kenya It would be nice if the organizing team ensures that pilgrims allocated in a certain section for the vigil/closing Mass, are able to access their allocated venues. It is also important that the audio-visual equipment work properly, so that pilgrims can follow what is going on.

Female 17 Australia It would be more convenient if the events of other cultures were held closer to the town where WYD is being held because it would save pilgrim time, cost and would be able to assist these events. For example, I, personally, missed out on a Chilean event that was held at Fairfield (in sydney) which was quite isolated from the city, itself. Also, that the quality of the food is altered given that most pilgrims thought that the food was not appropriate for humans even.

Male 28 France It would be great to have the same help by policemen, city agent and volunteers as we had in Sydney

Male 25 United States It would be good to have more opportunities advertised for Eucharistic Adoration and prayer, especially of the Liturgy of the Hours and Rosary. It may also be nice to have small social events after some of these in the same area.

Female 31 Australia It would be good if we could get the bag pack earlier.

Female 16 France It will be really hot. Don't forget to have a lot of water to give to everybody with sun hat...

Male 17 Australia It was well organised but security was a bit too much. There needs to be toilets in the high security area, that was the biggest problem with the Papal Arival.

Female 21 United Kingdom It was well done indeed!

Male 32 Australia it was very professional , but not enough time to commute from distant locations , ( running to penrith train station to be able JUST make it to city on time for another event.

Male 26 Philippines it was very organized. thank you very much.

Female 23 Philippines It was very organized and wellcoming, and we feel were in home...

Male 18 United States it was very good just food was nasty and the school I stayed in could of used more showers. all we had was a box with 3 shower heads and no curtains for 150+ people. the shower box was outside

Female 50 Australia It was very difficult for locals to join in various celebrations without going through registrations and paying fees e.g. My family dearly wanted to walk across the Harbour Bridge with the Cross and Icon but to do so we'd have had to register all of us, pay for packages for everyone including the kids and all we wanted to do was walk across the bridge.

Female 20 Australia It was understandable for the registration prices to be so expensive for Category A countries in order to subsidise for less fortunate countries, however, I feel the funds could have been put to better use in regards to the food. Although food need not be extravagant in a pilgrimage, I felt the food (mostly dinners) were hard to eat and inedible (taste-wise).

Female 20 Australia It was the most well organized event I have EVER attended. I can't believe how perfectly everything turned out to be with such a large crowd. It was an amazing experience

for me overall and it wouldn't have been so great if the organization wasn't so well organized to PERFECTION!

Female 32 United States It was so well done. It blew Cologne away in comparison, I hope that Madrid can do as well!

Female 18 Australia It was slightly confusing for local residents in registering. Perhaps a different form that didn't include travel arrangements could had have been useful. Also, maybe the age restriction for local residents could had have been more clear.

Male 22 Canada It was really difficult to navigate around Randwick Racecourse and there were not enough washroom & toilet facilities there. Also, the walk from Randwick back downtown after the closing mass was chaotic and confusing. Overall, however, the organization was quite excellent!

Female 18 New Zealand It was pretty well organised - I particularly liked the way that we had to get 6 tickets in order to get food because it forced the groups to branch out. Very good idea!! :D The food was a bit average, I must say tho..but otherwise, I really thought the experience was wonderful.

Female 17 Australia It was organized fantastically. Everything was planned right to the dot and I am greatful to have been able to go! THANKYOU !!!

Male 32 Philippines It was great! It was well organized! I liked the transport system, the friendliness of the people, volunteers, etc. For the next organizers, maybe it would be good to follow the SYD WYD. But also consider that it would be summer in Madrid. Maps would help, some Spanish phrases, words to help pilgrims move about... Thanks for the great experience! :-)

Female 18 Australia It was great organisation, however due to sightseeing, there was little time for morning chatechesis and other WYD activities. This was a pity, but I guess you can't do everything! It would be great if WYD celebrations went on for even longer than the period of one week. (discluding days in the diocese)

Female 15 Australia It was great as explained in the previous paragraph

Female 50 Canada It was good to have the option to purchase food at Randwick but the process was way too long - one long line to order, another to pick up the food. Packaged lunches throughout WYD were repetitive.

Female 21 United States It was given a grant from my school to attend. I wasn't told and i didn't find it clear online that I had to join a group. I had trouble finding one in my area so i decided to go by myself and it made it very confusing to register and when I arrived i was the only one 'groupless'. Fortunately I met a very warm American group that invited me to stay with them. Some of the volunteers were very helpful making sure I was okay on the first day midst all the business.

Female 24 Australia It was far superior to 2005 Cologne, Germany! The food was exceptional, venues and queues were organised unbelievably well. The facilities at Randwick were amazing. We were accommodated with great hospitality at St Therese's in Lakemba. The registration process, and the travel from Victoria were not organised quite so well. People will always find something to complain about, but I thought all in all Sydney did a great job.

Female 31 United Kingdom It was fantastic to be part of such a large crowd which also means being far away from the main stage where everything is happening. In Sydney there were not enough large screens to see who was talking, singing, taking part in processions to the altars with the result that it was hard to know what was happening at times and thus take part in it. 2. Queuing for food - only being allowed to take food for 6 people at a time ran contrary to logic. Our group had 13 members, it was very frustrating to have to organise tickets with others to have enough tickets to collect our food especially when we were exhausted from being on our feet all day long. It would have being better to be flexible and have basic packs set up for 6 but be able to add to or take away from the pack instead of a blank 'NO we can only take tickets in lots of 6', I would not have liked to have been a volunteer on the food stands! I was very impressed by the rest of the organisation of WYD08.

Male 25 New Zealand It was fairly well organised but could have been done much more sustainably. I was dissapointed in the use of cheap rubbishy plastic items and unhealthy foods such as bags of chips and chocolate bars etc. What is wrong with fruit... I know a sustainability expert was hired but much more needs to be done by the Catholic Church if we are to truly show we mean what we say and also to help evangelize others outside the church who truly care for God´s creation. I was embarrased to be a part of it at times. I would be very willing to help make the next one more sustainable. I have expertise in this area. I am currently travelling but can be contacted on [email protected]. Many thanks though - God Bless

Male 24 Australia It was excellently organised! There were some long waits, eg. food, but I'm not complaining simply because there was so many people, that's just how it is.

Male 22 Australia It was excellent. The Police were wonderful. Dont think the whole thing could have been done so well anywhere other than Sydney. And Im a victorian!

Female 14 Australia it was done great!

Male 15 Philippines It was by far the best experience of my life. I'm looking forward to Madrid.

Male 52 Australia It was an excellent faith event and I am very glad I shared in it. I am parent of a youth and had my belief in the youth of the church strengthened by the experience.

Female 24 Australia It was always going to be a struggle, but i think it was done well overall. Next time don't use such a complicated rego website!

Female 23 New Zealand It was all wonderful, really well organised and always feed well!!!!

Female 31 Australia It was all very last minute in terms of getting information about what was happening, what we needed to do.

Female 17 United Kingdom It was all really good. But the ques for the food were too long and it was quite annoying how a lot of the toilets broke at the final mass at Randwick. Also, there wasn't enough variety in the pilgrim meals, it was the same meals everyday, which got quite boring plus i didn't particulary enjoy the meals.

Female 18 Australia it was all fairly well organised... after all there was like 500 000 people there!!!! THANKS!!!

Female 16 Australia It was all done really well. Especially with dinner, lunch etc.

Female 17 United States It was all amazing! just the food was long lines and same thing every day, mix it up a bit THE BROWNIES WERE AMAZING!!

Male 35 Australia It was a wonderful experience and Australia is very lucky to have hosted it. Much recognition should be given to the organisers and also the many other entities that for without their help it would not have come together as well as it did. From the organisers to the volunteers, the Police Force and the Australian Government, every one involved in WYD helped show the world what a great country Australia is and what a united faith, the people of the world have in Catholocism. Many, many thanks,

Male 25 Philippines It was a success, it is currently the best WYD ive ever attended

Female 21 Australia It was a little Opus Dei biased...it would have been nice to have more equal representation in presentations from other groups (the Vocations Expo doesn't count)

Female 55 Australia It was a huge organising feat. The fact that what was not organised well, the 'ordinary' people in the parishes picked up the slack and filled in. Registration for the volunteers and priests could have been a little tighter. After all the hassel of paying and registering for WYD found many got free tickets to the front from corporate bodies! Through the final mass the refreshment tents and should have been shut.

Male 43 Australia It was a huge event to organise. Nothing this scale is going to go without hitches and the people who organised it did not have any (personal) experience to draw on in organising it (that I am aware of). I think most people accept that there will be some inconveniences when participating in an event of this scale. I would like to commend those organised it - they would have been under enourmous pressure and, overall, the event was an outstanding success!

Female 35 Australia It was a bit unorganised with communication of information to us Volunteers, no training was done only by watching a video during accreditation which was not enough. Some WYD items were quite expensive.

Female 18 Australia It should happen more often!

Male 32 Philippines it should be a well organized activities...

Female 25 India It should be a sponsored event including travel.

Male 20 New Zealand It rocked - the police were great, the smiling faces were awesome, and Sydney put on a show like only it can.

Male 15 Australia It needs to be a few says longer

Female 45 Australia It is great for the young ones. I was only involved to help my three sons have a good experience. I am too old. Will certainly be encouraging them for Madrid. Organisation was great except we had no idea what was going on until it all started.

Male 60 New Zealand It is difficult to fit in so much in so short a time. I was exhausted when I returned home. It wasn't compulsory to attend everything! Please emphasise the Catechesis and the Masses associated with them. The large gatherings need to be as well organised as they were in Sydney. If Madrid can be transformed ike Sydney it will be another great WYD. Thanks for the opportunity to respond to this suvey.

Male 34 Australia It doesn't matter so much!

Male 17 Australia It could be a little better when it comes to pilgrims coming into peoples houses when it comes to organisation for people who are willing to accept pilgrims into their homes.

Male 27 United States Information regarding accommodations for pre-WYD days and the WYD itself was maddening! I could not get answers from anyone about where my group would be staying until four days before we began our travels. At minimum, people should have two weeks to prepare for such things.

Female 20 Australia Incredible organisation job!!!!! You guys are true miracle workers!

Male 14 Australia include translation guides in the pilgrim packs for those who don't speak Spanish

Female 18 Myanmar In WYDSydney,I think the food should suit for all people.But then,it was as though everyone who came to Sydney is Westerners.When thinking about food,it should be sth that suit with situations,not like cold smoked tuna on a cold morning(the Randwick night).Accomodations need to be a bit spacious,not places where people from five countries packed with one bathroom.But in my opinion,the arrangement for trasportation was very convenient and easy.I think the same kind of arrangement should be applied in Madrid in 2011.

Male 36 Australia In the end it was very good. If the pilgrims (more so the leaders) know more details of accomodation earlier would be much better. More showers and more food tents would make it perfect. Cheers and thank you. God bless!

Female 19 United States In the Day of The Diocese, It was a little scary for me the first day to part from my group since i did not know who i would be staying with. Mostly everyone else in my group had a brother or sister/mother to stay with and I didn't. But gladly I then meet a girl who lives near my hometown and who i could talk to and shared the same home with. It would be nice to keep the group together. Thank You!

Female 18 Australia In terms of the registration process there was a bit of trouble in our group with selecting which package they would be a part of as, some elements applied and some didn't; in relation to accommodation etc. If I were to make a suggestion it would be to organise the package selection based on more variabes, selected individually by each pilgrim, to calculate their individual fee. It could be acheived with an internet based system conducted in a survey form like this one, including how long? accommodation? food? where from? etc, not simply A B or C with no flexibility.

Female 21 Australia In terms of events, similare events to Sydney's WYD are fine. Please include as much sight seeing as possible. In terms of food, a canteen style meal is more attractive. Fruit and vegetables were lacking in Sydney and there was also too much junk food. Mostly, there was too much food which lead to wastage. Slightly less food but more nutritious please!

Female 25 United States In regards to organisation, the accreditation center should devise a new way of keeping track with payments. I registered as a pilgrim adn paid the fees, but afterward I was offered a volunteer position and accepted and till today five months later I still haven't been refunded.

Female 30 Australia In many ways there was too much to do and it was not possible to get to everything especially if you wanted to ge a good spot for the main events it meant you hadto leave straight after catechesis. The lack of sleep that I had during the week because I tried to squeeze everything in meant hat I was extremely ill at the overnight vigil and missed most of the final mass because of this. The overnight sleepout was too cold and it has effected my health quite a bit especially for the weeks following and I had to return unwell.

Male 18 New Zealand In a word: Shocking. Everything was done in a seemingly haphazard and ersatz fashion, the toilets were blocked, no running water etc. More organization sorely needed.

Female 23 Indonesia Improvement in handling the crowds especially in the big events.

Male 49 Philippines Improve the host family assignments

Female 25 Australia I'm sure you've had a lot of comments about the registration process....but yeah..the website was horrible! Mistakes galore...but, people came and it was fun and wonderful so no worries :)

Female 15 Australia If you run WYD 2011 in Madrid the same as WYD 2008 Sydney then there will be nothing to worry about as it was basically perfect.

Female 30 Canada If there was one thing I would like to comment on in this regard it would have to be the food. Except for the first night at Barangaroo, we had stew every night, and especially at the end, everyone in our group was absolutely sick of it. Variety would be a good idea, even if it was a choice at the food counter.

Male 19 Australia If possible, crucial information (like the information found in the Pilgrim handbook) should be made available earlier to those going. It should also be made available to those considering whether to go. As I said above, some of the most incredible moments at wyd were not the loudest but ones spent in adoration with the Missionaries of charity (Mother Theresas sisters) and spent in conversation with two franciscan friars which my group was fourtunate enough to travel with. Perhaps the peace, wisdom and humility of these brothers and sisters should play a larger role in future WYD celbrations. Furthermore, there can never be too many toilets...

Female 15 Australia If people are going to go as a group, I think they should be screened to be emotionally healthy stable individuals, both pilgrims and leaders. I think if people are permitted to forms groups in the way they recruit, but also in the way leaders are designated to be leaders, then i don't think quality of experience, or saftey is so much assured.

Male 29 Philippines If online registration will be offered, to make sure that systems and structures are efficient.

Female 51 Canada If Madrid, could copy Sydney, they would not need to change anything... Well done SYDNEY we love you from CANADA

Female 24 Samoa If it is possible to create a backup site to avoid system crashing. Also it is best not to rely on emails as well and try and send mails physically, in that way we can avoid people not getting mails even though they send it but they went straight to junk mail, some people don't check their junk mails. It is an expensive exercise but hopefully madrid could find a mail delivery company that would be able to find us the Catholic a cheaper bargain or better off deal Free Delivery.

Female 20 United States I'd like to find out how to help plan WYD and also how I can volunteer for it as well.

Female 59 New Zealand I'd like more in advance of time for the next WYD for more information in regards of accomodation, axact financila package that each pilgrim will look at that so that people have an idea how much they will pay and start working from there on, it's gonna costly to everyone around the parts of the catholic world to finance their travel, but we have the faith that our Lord always provides ways for us.

Female 24 Kuwait i wud like to go grow more spiritually as in some cases i felt i ws so tired to pray at times

Female 21 United States I would suggest a possible change in food lines. The only time I had to wait for a long period of time was opening mass, stations of the cross and any other event that had most of the WYD pilgrims in attendance. Maybe split it up into different time frames. Certain groups or colored tickets get their meals from this time to this time and so on. This might cut back on the wait because you wouldn't have every single person racing to get food all at the same time. But great job on handing them out in groups of six. Great idea!!

Male 58 United States I would strongly recommend a special scene reflecting each country, specially the Drum show from Frere Phong in San Jose California group. This show eloquentlt demonstrated the power of God and His Love thru all these activities from the children. The WYD should see, must see His Love and Message thu this show when the Holy Martyrs of Viet Nam were executed and thje results of faith seeds in Viet Nam Church. WYD all must see this!!!!

Female 18 Canada I would prefer, personally, if we didn't have the exact same meal every single day.

Female 54 Australia I would only like to say that I felt the Masses, Catecheses etc were not youth orientated. Also the Masses were not very inclusive of women, young or old.

Female 60 Australia I would love to work on a committee helping in he preparaing stage for Madrid. I feel the food was a real issue with my group as we were always having to search out a place with food lft for us. AsI knew the city that was not a reat problem but it was for many others. Also having to be in groups of 6 mean many had to eat away from their friends as the waited for other people to mak up the 6. A lot of food was wasted because there were many people who didn't like the food in the pack. Selection packs would have been better. We found it very dificult to get to the events we wanted to partly bcause of the distance and tansport or events finishing later than scheduled.

Male 23 Malaysia I would love to provide feedback but I am only used to giving comments via conversations instead. You may want to contact me for further discussion

Female 60 Australia I would love to be on an organising team for Madrid so that they can learn from all we felt about Sydney.

Female 17 Australia I would like to thank the entire organisation of the WYD 2008, without your support and effort, our experience would not have been as fulfulling and complete as it was. To all the volunteers and workers, your effort is greatly appreciated and remembered. I personally was able to see Australia as a country that came together to support the growing young Catholics of the world, and with your help and support, every single one of us were able to journey through with positive outlooks and optimism. This pilgrimage journey allowed me to open myself to my faith

and brought together the many other Catholics and young people of the world, to unity and celebrate our faith and youth. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Your work will always be remembered and appreaciated. God Bless You.

Male 20 Philippines I would like to thank all the organiners, volunteers and citizens of Australia present during the WYD08. Being a pilgrim during the WYD08 is one of my beautiful expercience in life. I really miss Brisbane and Sydney and hope to visit again someday.. God Bless..

Female 18 Canada I would like to suggest a different music choice. Many of the large masses were playing music that is not as relatable to youth as others.

Female 39 Australia I would like to see future World Youth Days aimed for the young and the young at heart. I feel so sorry for people who feel that they cannot or should not participate because they are slightly outside the age group. Attending a World Youth Day might be just the thing that they need in the faith life to kick start it and renew it and pass this enthusiasm onto their families.

Female 36 Australia I would like to say thank you to the organizers.

Male 32 Australia I would like to make one suggestion. The organisation of the melbourne dioceses was the worst. I was so dissapointed that our group waited over twelve hours after the time we were advised to be there. If these people are part of organising anything again I will have nothing to do with any world youth day group and I will take my parish and school by ourselves and make private plans as its the same people every WYD and they never learn from past mistakes and the same people are hired- we loose many good kids who because the event is so poorly organised locally.

Female 20 Australia I would like to know who in WYD agreed to allow this survey and how carefully the WYD organisers checked the questions. Some of the questions were so biased (for example about worship being too old style or too formal). I think they were written by someone really out of touch with my generation.

Female 53 Philippines i would like to find out if it is still possible to get the refund of one of my groupmates who paid 2x due to miscommunication and online registration. please get in touch with me. thanks

Female 55 Australia I would like to congratulate everyone concerned, for all the excellent organisation and preparation that was needed to make this event so well run and spiritually meaningful. I was very impressed with all aspects of the event. I am not a catholic, but I was welcomed into our Sandhurst catholic diocese and made feel a valued member of the group. Congratulations.

Female 27 India I would like to congratulate all the volunteers esop the authorities of sydney for their excellent organisation skills - even down to the mobile toilets which were very clean compared to the ones we had in Rome 2000, coclogne The food was great and i cant complain abt anything - sydney has been my BEST WYD experience sof ar.

Female 28 Ireland I would like to congratulate all involved in the organising of WYD08 I found it to be very well organised assisting greatly in my enjoyment of it. Thanks for all of the hard work!!

Female 22 Canada I would like to comment on staying at Olympic park. I commend the availability of shower facilities. I was shocked by the sleeping conditions. We were not prepared or

warned about the extreme cold in the evenings on the warehouse floor. Advance warning would have allowed us to prepare sufficiently.

Male 60 United States I would like to commend the whole Australian Team who handled the registrations by internet---they were all AWESOME, GREAT, COURTEOUS, HELPFUL, & FRIENDLY. good job! FOOD, SECURITY, ACCOMMODATION, TRANSPORTATION, & DIRECTIONS, they were all GREAT. Next WYD 2011---MAY we suggest to have the Australian team works with the Madrid team. Make things (from internet registrations to visa application/distribution be easy & simple). MAY GOD BLESS US ALL, Especially the AUSTRALIAN WYD 2008 team of an abundance of peace, good health & wealth, in Jesus' Name.

Female 27 Philippines I would like to commend the organizers of the WYD2008. I just hope next time it wont be on a winter. Thanks! God Bless!

Male 32 South Africa I would like to commend the Australian organization of WYD - everything ran smoothly - the toilets were the most AMAZING part of the experience - no porta-loos - this made a SIGNIFICANT different in the overall experience (THANKYOU :) As for the programme, there was too much to do, and too much to see, and as a result we missed out on a lot of the events becuase we didnt have enough time beforehand to plan which events we wanted to attend. Not enough information was on the official WYD2008 website within a reaonsable amount of time before the event. WYD2011 is in Spain, and the website is still only in Spanish. A timeous English version of the website with all the events (and their locations) should be available at least 6 months prior to the event, so that we can decide where we want to go as a group, and have everything preplanned. But overall, the strong police presense, the thousands of volunteers, free hugs, and smiling faces of everyone truly made it a blssed experience, thankyou WYD2008 team.

Female 60 Australia I would like to be a volunteer in Madrid and would appreciate any information on the service.

Male 22 Australia i WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE 2008 WYD WAS THE MOST INTERESTING AND AN OUTSTANDING EVENT DUE TO HOW IT WAS ORGNISED AND MANAGED.

Male 61 Australia I would like the topics of married priests and women priests to be able to be discussed by youth.

Male 22 Spain I would keep the online communications, it really helped me a lot to get to information quickly. I would divide Spain as Australia was divided in order to make pilgrims be EVERYWHERE flooding Spain ^^ That would be awesome. I would make sure there is some plastic protection for us like in Sydney during the VIgil night, it was a great help to rest better. A better offer of food and drinks in the vigil and the same huge amounts of real baths ^^ In Spain there are a lot of churches and communities, I am sure they will all help to accommodate the thousands of thousands of pilgrims who are coming for sure! :)

Female 19 New Zealand I would just like to say well done to the entire team! it was a huge effort and it was done tremendously well.

Female 30 Australia I would have to say that i think there needs to be more care given to the pilgrim organisers and leaders. Just speaking from my own experience there a high burn out rate either just befor or just after WYD. It is a shame that these volunteers work so hard to organise the pilgrimage and then either don't enjoy it cause they are to tired or can not continune in there ministry upon returning after WYD. I think this is more evident in the host country.

Male 44 Australia I would have liked for the catechesis to be a little less animated, and more reflective. I found it too pointed and leading, and felt unchallenged spiritually.

Female 52 Australia I would concentrate on quality rather than volume or quantity of people. Living conditions were very average. The days were too long 6.30am to 10.30pm and students and teachers were exhuasted for the last few days which meant the highlight of the week - the pilgramage to Randwick - lost much of it's meaning as everyone was just to tired to participate in the desired manner.

Female 28 Australia I would be more then happy to help in the future if the need was there.

Female 34 Malaysia I would appreciate some response to our enquiries after the WYD regarding payments and reimbursements. As it is, the WYD e-mail and website does not work anymore, and we who still have things to settle with the organising committee are left in a quandary. For food distribution, there were some points where no distribution stands were available, and we had to skip food to make sure that we reach the place where we wanted to attend an event.

Female 27 Australia I worked on a youth festival event, and I found the time line of organisation here unworkable. We were given only 6 weeks notice about our venue and scheduling, which meant we were unable to secure some special guests and publicise. It lead to wasting some money from our very small budget. More attention needs to be paid to making ethical decisions around corporate sponsorship. For example I think the provision of MacDonalds vouchers was inappropriate.

Male 39 Australia I wish to work for the Organisation Committee of World Youth Day.

Female 50 Australia I wish to comment on the survey that was emailed to me earlier in the year. I was unable to go back to the comments section when I actually did the survey. It asked a question about the experience of God and 'making love'. This was a most offensive question, not only to me, a married woman, who happen to believe that it is none of anybody else's business, but, I would imagine, also to priests and religious, who take vows of chastity/celibacy. It was also totally inappropriate for young Catholics, mostly unmarried, who are all called to chastity, and should have no sexual experience. If the unmarried youth have had sexual experience, they have behaved against God's law, and Catholic teaching, and therefore the question is irrelevant. This question should not have been in the survey. In addition, there was a section where I had to give my marital status. The relevant box said 'married/de facto', as though the two are equivalent. This was in a Catholic survey, despite the fact that the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a Sacrament, and that living de facto is SERIOUSLY SINFUL. The two are not equivalent, and should not have been placed in the same line, as though they are. As to the organisation of Sydney WYD itself, I have these comments: I don't know if there was a better way of organising the food distribution, but it didn't really seem to work on the first day. Better sign-posting was also needed, since, as a stranger to Sydney, I found then distinctly lacking in some places.

Female 21 United Kingdom I went with a group of over 80 people, but I was the only one from my parish, so I didn't know where to go or what events to see. Some poeple who had been to the country before, or who had friends with them went to alot more events and places than me because they had put a lot of research into it. I didn't realise before I went how much research I would need to do before going, and could have done with more information about activities before I went in order to prepare myself.

Female 46 Australia I went to the WYD not expecting too much from anyone as I considered it as a pilgrimage. I was there to absorb every good thing that was available and never ever thought of anything that was inconvenient. My mind was set for a great experience and I had it! Great Work!

Male 26 Portugal I went by myself since I'm from Portugal and I knew noone interested on going. Due to God's grace I met the best people I could have met during the WYD, portuguese and brasilian from my assigned parish. However I feel there are many people who wish to go but don't known any friend who is going, and they miss this wonderful event. Is it possible to create a network of people travelling alone, so that they can join a big group (probably speaking the same language if possible/from near countries, cultures). I think is this way more people who loose the fear of going alone to an event like this. Thanks and God Bless!

Female 27 New Zealand I was very impressed with the crowd control - much better than in Cologne. Our group also found that the food distribution worked really well (except before the Opening Mass) but please, more fruit/veges and less sugar if possible! Even our teenagers were sugared-out by the end of the week. The main grip I had during the week (as a group leader) was with communication. Once we arrived on the ground in Sydney we were in a vaccuum. It is inevitable with such a big event that things will go wrong or have to be rescheduled, but there seemed to be no way of communicating problems to the correct people, or for the organisers to communicate with pilgrims. Maybe pilgrims could be told to tune in to a particular radio frequency for regular updates on transport problems; which food stations have run out of food; change of venue for events etc? Or they could register for text updates? Also, if group leaders could be given details of who to contact if certain key areas break down particularly on arrival, eg the accommodation provider you have been given isn't expecting you and you don't receive any transport or event passes, as happened to our group. We were lucky that the parish we arrived at was great, even though they weren't expecting us, and ran around in circles to get things sorted for us. We also had majors issues with the bus company in our area not recognising pilgrim passess, which wasn't sorted out until about day four. We may inadvertantly have been stuck in the middle of some bus-company-politics, but there was obviously a break down in communication somewhere, whether between WYD organisers and the company, the company and the drivers, or somewhere else.

Female 49 United States I was told that this Youth Day was very wrll organized

Female 29 United States I was super lucky* to meet 3 great people straight away even though I came as an independent. Would be nice if there was a way people could be organized into groups if they so choose... (Certainly I had no diocese etc to associate with...) *Actually, I should change my earlier answer...God was most obviously present in bringing me together with exactly the right people to accompany on the spiritual journey of WYD!

Male 27 Kenya I was really mad at the cardinal of australia for not mentioning AFRICA in his speech. AFRICA IS A CONTINENT WITH 54 COUNTRIES AND A LARGE NUMBER OF CATHOLICS. I DEMAND AN APOLOGY.

Female 42 New Zealand I was really impressed with our school accomodation (we were so well looked after, especially when most of our group suffered from a stomach bug, the transport was great, and the food distribution worked really well. The programme was full. I found it exhausting as an older adult but it was amazing so important to pack in as much as possible which every successful conference does to inspire all visitors to the max to take home to inspire others!

Female 32 United States I was really impressed with how well marked directions were and how many volunteers were so helpful. For that many people, I found it very easy to get around and really was never just standing and waiting for very long. Seemed to flow very well! Was great to have bathrooms that weren't port-a-johns as well and running water to wash your hands. THe food was pretty good and also seemed to be well distributed. Very impressive!

Female 27 Singapore I was really amazed at the brilliantly organised WYD arrangements - the logistics and wonderfully executed planning - from the point of registration to the final Mass and good-bye.Also the volunteers at the program were such wonderful witnesses of Christ, they were so helpful and really shared the joy of WYD with all the pilgrims. Also, I loved the bag that we got upon registration, it had all the necessary things we needed and more.Having Catechesis with the Bishops was such a wonderful idea, as we got a good time of prayer and understanding on the faith. Suggestions - You must arrange to gove away WYD merchandise at lower prices, in bulk etc. Also,clubbing a pilgrimage with the WYD program to the relevant sites may be a good choice.

Female 17 Australia I was quite impressed with the organisation of wyd, even though i still can't quite eat lamb. I would like to commend those who organised the stations of the cross as i found them really beautiful and the reflections on the stations were, i found, very relevant to the youth of today. Thumbs up to the volunteers as well, they were really kind and a fantastic help.

Female 48 Australia I was one of the not so young participants at WYD. However, having been in the role of Homestay coordinator, I was able to witness the goodness and faith in most pilgrims. One of the leaders of a group was having dificulties with some pilgrims and this gave a window for me to learn that most of the 60 pilgrims in that group not only did not know each other but did come as a pilgrim not wanting to know anything about Catolicism. I wonder if there is any way where relevant representatives of the church in every city could be suggested that is very important that every person in a group must express their thoughts regarding their wish to know about our religion. Another suggestion may be that pilgrims and accommodation should be a priority. Also, make very clear that hosts do not receive money to provide accommodation. Some pilgrims were under the impression that host had the obligation a good accommodation, transport and food. That's all for now. God bless :)

Male 61 Australia I was not given much notice of my duties as a WYD Volunteer. This may have been because I live in Sydney. I also was not advised of the names of my Homestay Pilgrims until the night I was picking them up.

Female 43 Philippines I was not able to attend the other events simply because I was alone during some days. But luckily I had met a very nice woman from Melbourne who also attended on her own. I had problem getting the refund of my spouse who did not make it. He is registered as a pilgrim like me. Unfortunately, he got sick before our scheduled departure and had a back problem. We communicated with the registrations committee. Until too late, they advised that there was a July 1 cut-off. But I think there was no formal advise about a deadline in filing for refund of registration fees for those who could not make it.

Female 23 Malta I was impressed with the organization in Sydney. All activities where easily accessible and easy to appreciate. I guess I can only hope that the organization for the next WYD will be the same :D

Female 16 New Zealand I was impressed with the organisation. I thought it was very good.

Female 35 United States I was impressed on the organization of everything. There were just a couple of things I had problems with. First of all, getting food for lunch at the opening mass. I

100

was in a large group of 40 people and by the time we finally made it to the entrance for the opening mass, the first 2 or 3 tents were out of food. We had to walk further in and fight the groups already eating on the ground to find food and try to make it back to the entrance so we could enter through the correct gate to get to our section. Maybe had the first pilgrim groups been lead to the furthest in and let the food run out that way may have worked. The other thing that was difficult was the timing of the first event after catechisis. My group stayed out in Merrickville and by the time mass and lunch were over and we traveled to Sydney to try and find the program we had picked, we were late and the program was full and the doors were shut. It seemed we did not have enough time to navigate. We tried to get directions, but the police people we asked had no idea as they were also unfamiliar with the area as it was not their usual post. Those 2 instances were the only ones I can think of that were disappointing to me. Other wise, thumbs up to Sydney!!

Female 29 United States I was impressed by the number of varoius types of events that were open to pilgrims for World Youth Day 2008!

Female 23 New Zealand I was impressed at how well organised it was. though the toilets needed a bit of attention after some of the big events

Male 58 New Zealand I was happy with most aspects of the organisation and would like to pass that on to the apropriate departments. The area that struggled and we found used up huge amounts of our time was the feeding stations. There was a definite need for more, and setting them up so they funnelled into bottle-necks is a poor design layout.

Female 48 Australia i was happy with everything

Female 21 Australia I was firstly going to WYD as a pilgrim and paid for the weekend package but was contacted to be a volunteer which I agreed to. However I didn't receive a refund though I contacted many WYD staff many times via phone, email and even in person. Yes, money is not important when it comes to my faith, but when you are a student every dollar counts and I worked just so that I could go to WYD. I feel like I was cheated and the man who answered my phone calls was very rude.

Female 28 United States I was extremely impressed by the organisation of WYD 2008. The venues were all kept very clean and organised every day, to a degree I thought was impossible with 250,000 people. Transportation was easy, and the printed materials were clear and helpful. The police and volunteers were always helpful and made everything run smoothly. Sydney felt very safe; there were official people everywhere to help. The planners of WYD 2008 and the city of Sydney should be very, very proud.

Male 48 United States I was extremely disappointed in the seeming lack of organization in the travel (by bus) to Sydney, the poor coordination of events during WYD08, and the poor distribution and choice of food during the week. As someone who was concerned about maintaining his health and controlling a medical condition, the overabundance of canned meat products, candy and other poor food selections in the daily meal package was intolerable! I was told by organizers that I could seek food elsewhere, but having paid for the meal package I thought this quite rude. Please take this into consideration for WYD11 and offer an alternative 'healthy' food package. Another occurence that angered me was the souvenir/food vendors remaining open during the Opening Mass. The moneychangers were truly present when you couldn't even shut these down so that we could hear and appreciate the liturgy - rather than hearing these people yell to us during Mass about getting the Pope on a plate.

101

Female 21 Netherlands I was at Tangara School and there was no problem there with accommodation or food... everything was really good! Thank you everybody for those beautiful days!

Female 21 Indonesia I was an independent pilgrim (came on my own to Sydney). I already registered myself as WYD pilrim back home and I understood that I was supposed to make another registration when I arrived in Sydney. However, I encountered problems when I was trying to locate my registration. First of all, I just couldn't find out how to register or where should I go as the persons-in-charge kept sending me here and there. Most of them didn't have a clue too. And so, I decided not to waste my time trying to locate and just attended whatever events which I allowed me to go in without my pass. Perhaps, in the future, to prevent a case like mine, it would be good for the pilgrims (especially independent/not in travelling in group)if the place where they ought to register themselves again is located at almost every locations where the event is/will be held. It should be taken into consideration that as the pilgrims are not familliar with the host city, they would have troubles (not to mention dangers) going around to unfamilliar places and also it would be quite a waste of time to go for example to somewhere that is far away from where an event is held.

Female 26 Australia I was amazed at how well organised WYD Sydney was - we always knew where to go, how to get there, we were so well fed and cared for by the volunteers - I was stunned at the management. I felt safe and protected at all times.

Female 22 Australia I was accomodated at the Dome, olympic park, and was amazed that I did not have one cold shower, had goods nights sleep (most nights!) and access to a powerpoint to charge my phone, for communication, one of the stressful worries for us as small group leaders! the food was awesome considering the amount of people. And the positive nature of the volanteers did a wonderful job for the moral during the mornings, when most people were tired and grumpy!!!!

Female 44 Canada I was a group leader/organizer and a pilgrim at WYD. In my opinion the staff in Sydney were not well organized in advance of hundreds of thousands arriving into Australia. For example: our group only rec'd confirmation of home stay and school stay a couple of days prior to arrival in Australia. I rec'd the confirmation emails while we were already enroute in New Zealand. Then when researching the location I found out that we were assigned a 2 hour travelling distance from Sydney. That meant upon arrival in Sydney we had to get a group at night to their location. In the end we chartered a bus to take them. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Our groups were registered, paid by Dec 31, 2007. We should have rec'd confirmation of where we were staying at least 60 days prior to departure from Canada. Our groups consisted of more than 50 persons travelling and a week before departure I was receiving concerned phone calls and emails from parents, whose children would be travelling across the world for this event and had no idea where their children would be staying. I am sure if you were in this situation you would also be concerned. In addition, food was the worst, absolutely disgusting, unhealthy to be serving marshmallow cake, chocolate bars, cookies. It would have cost less to have fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, etc. The amount of food that I saw go into the garbage was a complete waste of money. Please rethink this - please also think about instead of Nuns trying the food please consult a nutritionist in future! Accommodation at schools - terrible!! No paper towels, no toilet paper in bathrooms, 1 shower for over 150 youth. Too many assigned to one school and sharing rooms. For an industrialized nation such as Australia this was totally unacceptable. We had many in our group who were sick as a result of the uncleanly situation, and going hungry did not add to their enjoyment! Each of my group paid more than $2500 for this trip and expected slightly better from WYD/Australia. I am sorry to be so critical of the arrangements, but I am the Manager of a travel agency in Canada, and if I had clients and sent them on a trip like this, I would not be in business tomorrow. Our group was also assigned to a number of different catechesis sites, and venues when

102

I had requested the same for all and groups were all cross referenced. In future please consider investing in better organization for accommodation, & food preparation. In future, should I be group leader again, I will not recommend using WYD accommodation as it was not an acceptable standard. I thank you for allowing this feedback.

Male 23 Pakistan I want to say some thing to tou people which is very important. Many people are very poor in the not devoloped coutries and the want to join the organisation like WYD 2008 but they have no resources to join the organisations. Please talk to the youth supporting organisation to support financially the poor people and the get involve in the organisastion. At this way many people will gather and the world peace will be setteled easily. Thanks, Hazrat Noor Khattak

Male 25 Australia I want to say about amenities during final mass we din't have water, toilets were closed. It's better to avoid that in Madrid, for other things or other days it was perfect eccept that night at Randwick.

Male 42 Nigeria I want to request that the next WYD event should be handled in such a way that the organisers will be able to talk to either by mail or otherwise about the immigration authorities of the hosting country as to the genuineness of any pilgrim with correct identifications.

Female 44 Australia I volunteered to help at the WYD. I heard nothing from the organisor and I emailed the organisor in early June and found that due to overwhelming response from international volunteers I was therefore not required to be involved. I think it is better to let me know earlier as I don't mind to give the opportunity to international volunteers but appreciate to know earlier instead of only knowning a month before the event.

Female 54 Australia I volunteered to be a Homestay co-ordinator and found that the role was immensley bigger than the training indicated. I really struggled to meet the tasks asked of me.

Female 41 Australia I understand that WYD is not easy to organize but eating the same food each day was very tough for many young people. That was almost the only complaint I heard.

Female 19 United States I understand that it's difficult to feed millions of people within a week, but the stew was gross. Please next time, find some better tasting food. I almost barfed onced because I got the vegetarian meal, and it was downright atrocious.

Female 22 Australia I understand security was necessary but it was way too strict - stupid things like having to walk all the way around to town hall station when wynyard was just 2 minutes away from barangaroo; my mum and sister (and many others) weren't allowed into barangaroo for the night concert - they had made a special trip into the city for the evening concert but were not allowed in as the police had to wait for orders from inside - I was on the inside and it was so empty but yet they were told that it was packed full. they and others had made the trip into the city after work etc. but were so disappointed and rudely kept out for NO reason whatsover.

Female 21 Australia I understand it would have been a hectic time, but getting in contact with the WYD Office either via phone or email became extremely difficult in the few months before WYD.

Female 52 Australia I travelled with a group of approx. 50 people and had no problems with any of the organisation. My heartfelt thanks go to all involved in the organisation who did a mammmoth job in the face of what seemed to be constant pressure and criticism. God bless them all.

103

Female 45 United States I traveled with a large group -- more than 500. We were forced to stay more than 40 minutes outside of Sydney -- so getting into town was hard and time consuming for us. Many many hours on the train and bus. Because of that, it was hard for us to get to fringe events on time. The newsletters leading up to WYD were great...loved the monthly information. The volunteers were great...you could never get lost. There was always someone around to help. Nice job!!

Female 44 Australia I tolereted the food but the rest of the activites were great

Female 24 Canada I thought WYD SYD was alot more organized than WYD 2002. But I found it a little irritating to have to always be in the exact section and area for the different events.

Male 18 Australia I thought travel arrangements were brilliantly organised. I did not like the inconsistency with the 'guards' at each section of randwick - some let me through to see friends and others wouldn't. I think that people should be allowed to roam around, subject to random checks and making sure they aren't actually STAYING in the wrong area.

Female 33 United Kingdom I thought this was really well organised and the welcome in Sydney was just incredible - my boyfriend is Australian (atheist) and he couldn't believe that his home country could be so un-cynical. It blew me away.

Female 59 United States I thought there could have been more accomadations at Renwick Field. There were not enough bathrooms and they were torn down way to ealier on that last day. There were not enough food and drink vendors. By the time we got to our place in line they were sold out. It was terribly hard to find the Adoration Tents again not enough of them. I was impressed with the way the ground was covered at Renwick.

Female 49 Australia I thought the whole event including DID WAS RUN VERY WELL- IT WAS A FANTASTIC EVENT-there were minor hiccups with the website but everything got sorted out.

Female 21 United States I thought the places my group stayed at were very generous and I could never thank them enough for their hospitality to us foreigners.

Female 40 Australia I thought the overall management of WYD was very good, especially food, public transport, venues for events (except for the stations of the cross where i was unable to see the big screen and consequently did not get much out of it)public toilets. Being part of the indigineous catechesis animating team was a high light for me because it was good to see so many indigenous Catholics strong in their faith represented and presenting their giftedness as part of the Australian Catholic Church.

Female 23 Canada I thought the organization of so many people was phenomenal. I has previously been to Toronto 2002, which was fairly well-organized, but Sydney was really well done. I know there had been some confusion over what language we were speaking, so all the books that got sent to our accomodations were in Spanish and we all spoke English or French so we couldn't follow allow with most of the liturgies/events until the very end when we got ahold of some English books. Overall, though, great experience. Great job, Sydney!

Female 50 Australia I thought the organising was great - I was pleased with all - it was a pilgrimage not a tourist trip! I would have expected the Randwick Racecourse management to issue a 'thank you ' to the organisers and the WYD crowd for not causing the damage anticipated!

104

Female 39 Australia I thought the organisation was top notch! The regstration process was sometimes a little difficult over the internet, but nothing too bothersome.

Female 17 Australia I thought the food was delicious. There was always some event to go to, I was never bored. Travelling was fun, I'd never seen trains like the ones in Sydney before. The whole organisation seemed really smooth to me.

Female 19 Australia I thought the event was organised fairly well considering the large amount of people they were trying to organise it for.

Female 19 Canada I thought that the organization of WYD2008 was exceptional, other than the minor issue of available washrooms at the vigil site, everything seemed to be well equipped and well done. Madrid would do well to imitate the organization style that was used in Sydney. Great job!

Female 17 Australia I thought that the accomodation we recieved was very well organised and we were situated very close to public transport which allowed us to travle into the city most days. As we stayed at a school there was plenty of toilets and rooms to stay in. The food was well distributed for the amount of people they had to cater for and it was fairly good. The only time i can remember having a problem with the facilities was at Randwick racecourse when the toilets were all blocked up becasue there was no water to flush them.

Female 19 United Kingdom i thought that everything was remarkably well organised and handled my only issue was that sometimes the provision of vegetarian food was a bit of a problem.

Female 27 Australia I thought that everything was organised very well. Wherever something didn't work it was out of the organisers hands. Well done.

Female 61 Australia I thought it was well organised other than I had trouble registering - probably because I had trouble registering via computer

Male 22 New Zealand I thought it was very well organised, especially in terms of the level of Government support which facilitated opening up the whole inner city for us pilgrims.

Female 18 Australia I thought it was organised really well. I expected long queues, running out of food/drink, transport delays, not enough room at the Randwick Sleep Out- but I didn't experience any of these things. I hope Madrid will be just as great!

Male 57 New Zealand I thought it was one of the better organised events i have attended - well planned , pity the online registration system stuffed up about three months before - and the programme have all the eventualities covered - there was something for all tastes - some of the food was not that spicy (bland) which had the South Americans stuffing peppers down their throats to liven it up!!- but otherwise catering was good - school facilities were better than expected - the local hosts went out of their way to make sure we were looked after - it was a call to Christ for them too and they understood that - we felt very humble at the experience unfolding each and every day -

Female 17 i thought it was incredibly well organised. we never had to wait too long for food, the trains ran really well, the police in particular did a fantastic job. Volunteers were only too happy to help and endeavoured to assit. Online registration was good. Accomodation was very adequate considering the circumstances, except maybe not enough showers..

105

Female 22 Australia I thought it was fantastic. One night however, on the Thursday I think, there was confusion about where you could get food so we went to a food court. But overall, the organisation was great. However, I think it was much easier because it is my home country and I speak the native language. It may be a bit more difficult in Madrid.

Female 16 Australia i thought it was excellent! i thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing!

Male 21 United States I thought it was all very well handled. The whole law that no one could 'harass' pilgrims was interesting...in some respects, it would have been interesting to see what more people really thought.

Female 19 New Zealand i thought it was a wonderful job. everything was done for us, helped the trip go smoothly and more enjoyable. Auz did a wonderful job and being a kiwi thats a big thing to say!

Male 31 Australia I thought in general the WYD in Sydney was extremely well organised. Everything went like clockwork. A couple of times it was a little hard getting hold of food but apart from that I have no complaints.

Female 22 Canada I thought Australia did an excellent job hosting WYD08. The outdoor papal mass at Radwick Racecourse was done much better, more organized, more enjoyable than the one in Germany in 2005. However the only improvement I would suggest that could have been taken from WYD05 was the giant screens every few meters. For those of us who were not near the stage we could not see what was going on, and therefore felt a bit disconnected from the mass, having the visual aid of the screens would have been better. Access to our accommodations and belongings is important. Being locked out of our accommodations for the vast majority of the day presented a lot of difficulties and problems because most of the evnts were so far away from our host site, and we were stuck lugging around a lot of extra 'just in case items' because we were not able to go back for hours and hours.

Female 17 United States I thought all in all it was very well organized, but I would say open more food points and have more volunteers for registration.

Male 48 United States I though the WYD08 was the best organized of the three WYD's I have attended. Using the web site to manage registration and publish information was a big help. I didn't care for not being able to make our own travel arrangements but I suppose given the limited resources available this was probably the only fair way to do it. I learned during the trip of groups that had much better accomodations than ours but were paying basically the same price. The price for our accomodations were much higher than the regular price for those rooms and much more than we paid for previous WYD's.

Male 18 Canada I think you guys pulled off an amazing job. The only thing I'd suggest is the lines at the food tent were similar to that of bread lines in communist countries: crazy! It would've made things smoother and calmer if that was fixed. Other than that: AMAZING!!!!!!!!

Female 16 Australia i think you did well. the only constructive criticism is to ensure all toilets tht may be used byfemales have sanitary disposal bins as at the sleep out, none were provided.

Female 29 Australia I think WYD in Sydney was well organised in all aspects. Thank you to all who have contributed and thank you to God.

106

Female 30 Poland I think WYD 2008 was very well organized. Thank you!

Female 19 Australia I think World Youth Day could be greatly improved if it was more of an inter-faith event.

Female 52 Vietnam I think we were on Pilgramge that entails a little sacrifice , I would suggest for some pilgrims cold showers were a bit of a worry however there was very little that one can criticize , Sydney Australia take a bow and the Catholic community of Australia take a bow , We are also mindful that we had pilgrims on our journey who were from developing nations and were working just for the chance to go in my eyes any small glitches paled into insignificance when we saw the lovely smiles of East Timorese and the YOUTH OF THE WORLD . EVERY BISHOP AND PRIEST CAN ALSO BE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE OUR FUTURE CHURCH READY TO RENEW AND INVIGORATE OUR BEAUTIFUL CHURCH IN A WORLD THAT SO SADLY NEEDS HOPE SOLACE AND LOVE .

Male 19 Macao I think this was my first time to join the WYD ,This was the special ecperience in my life, and then I can get closer with God,, thank you the organisation See you in 2011(Madrid)

Male 25 United Kingdom I think they need to thing of ways in which pilgrims can experience 'grace' through the organisation of world youth days. As in we can all help out and give. So more people can take ownership of world youth day. Maybe there could be an open conference where people can offer services. The event should be open to older people too in my view - as they need to have their hope renewed too!

Male 20 Malaysia I think there should be more organized and better management of the registration, especially the internet registration. I have problem with the internet registration at the first. Long queue for food is one of the things that I hate from WYD, I only took my night meal on the first day and I skipped the rest of the night. I think there should be more organised place for the food, e.g. build more tents or place of food distribution. The so-called 'cramp' schedule is also something that should be considered, travel from my place of accommodation (which is outside the city) to the city where is center of a lot of activities is quite troublesome, especially during night time when everyone is tired and wants to go back at the same time; the free transportation service is wonderful! I found out that the booklet that is given is not in English version for some people (who is in need of English), so I think it is unfair for them; the organising team should be more careful about this. I would like to thank you for the people in embassy who work so hard for granting me visa to travel to Australia, and the people in immigration who have anticipated it as well. Allocation space for Opening and Closing mass is something that should be taken into consideration, because people at the back could not follow what is going on, perhaps a soccer stadium would be a better place for things like this, rather than a one plain field. Instruction for big event should be announced at the first. Volunteers really did a good job, thank you very much! Maybe put more English sign in Madrid would be great for English speaking people, eh? Overall, good job, really appreciate it, proviciat.

Male 25 Philippines I think the WYD 2008 was very organized.

Female 24 Australia I think the World Youth Day website was abit confusing. There was too much information on the home page and not enough direction as to where you could find the specific information you are after. Also, not enough information was available regarding what the different packages offered.

Female 25 Canada I think the way Cologne did meals was extremely well done. I liked the idea of having one hot meal and at that point also receiving supper, to eat at any suitable time. In

107

Sydney there were too few sites and they seemed to be close to each other, except for at Randwick Racecourse, I liked the idea of receiving the food just as we entered the area. The food contained a bit too much sugar and would have been nice if there was more variety.

Female 36 Canada i think the volunteers were wonderful, sydney did a great job. crowd control was dealt with swiftly and efficiently. food was a little repetative, maybe more recycling cans especially for the bags they gave us to carry our food in,less waste the better. i think all in all sydney were incredible hosts! thank you australia!

Female 47 Australia I think the volunteers and organisers were fantastic. I didn't stay in a big school hall so I can't really comment on these arrangements as I made my own. Considering the amount of people that came to this beautiful event, I really think we were spoilt with all the items we received as registered people. The wonderful gifts in our backpacks, particularly the Holy Rosary and Compendium of the CCC. I hope the youth will use these to learn more about their Catholic faith, as the majority of the Catholic youth in Australia will not hear about the Catholic teachings in their homes, schools or parishes particularly 'Catholic' universities!

Male 23 I think the registrations and information flow could have been better. we didn't really find out too much about what was happening until very close to WYD and in terms of the actual logistics many of us just played it by ear

Female 22 Macao I think the registration process is a bit complicated, but aside from that I feel okay with everything in the WYD

Female 20 Australia I think the performances were extremely irrelevant. I understand that they may have had some kind of religious meaning but as a pilgrim i didnt feel the togetherness and the inspiration i was looking for. I think groups of chiors from evry diocese or most of the bigger or main onws should be organised from overseas and have representative chiors singing hyms that inspire such as the Recieve the power song. There should also be booklets that have the words written on them so the youth can sing along or understand what the song is about. Maybe even the lyrics being up on the screens instead of just screening the actual singer.

Female 50 Australia I think the organizers in Madrid should follow the organisation of WYD08 very closely because in every respect I thought it was excellent. I am so far reticent to send my children to Madrid because so far it doesn't appear to be as well organised as Sydney was at the same stage and if I am going to send my sons and daughters there, I need to know that they will be safe and that their basic needs of food, clothing, transport, safety and shelter will be provided.

Female 17 Australia i think the organisation on the giving out of food was a bit poor, i lined up for an hour to get one meal and i didnt find this very convienient. proper queues or something along those lines would help.

Female 20 United States I think the one thing that needs to be corrected in the availability of WYD merchandise at places where mass will be held. At Barangaroo, people were buying memorabilia and food during Mass, which was highly disrespectful. I believe those facilities need to be closed at the start of Mass and opened up again at the finish. That's it, everything else was FANTASTIC!!!

Female 23 United Kingdom I think the food situation needs to be sorted out because I have been to 2 WYD's now and the logistics of receiving food is a nightmare! There were definitely not enough places to receive food. I remember being at the Domain and being told to go to Barangaroo to collect food because of the amount of people in the Domain was more than Barangaroo therefore

108

Barangaroo had spare food. Many of my friends ended up eating in Hungry jacks because of the wait for food.The pushing to collect food after the Opening Mass was dangerous and many of my friends fainted and became ill because of the wait and the crowds. It was a lovely idea to have hot food and just what we needed but logistically it didn't work. However the transport was brilliant! to be able to travel around everywhere to every event and know there was an extra train or bus in service to help us get there was good. The train supervisors were so helpful and friendly. The toilets at the mass at Randwick were brilliant and much more hygienic than the previous WYD and that was my one concern with the open air mass. Because of the organisation of this WYD I enjoyed it so much more than the WYD in Germany. The volunteers on the streets who helped us to get home or get to an event or just help when we were lost were wonderful and all of my friends appreciated their help. For Madrid I would suggest concentrating on the food distribution, transport and translators for those who do not speak Spanish!!

Female 37 Philippines I think the food should be improved or be more innovative since it was just the same kind for all the official World Youth Day days. Maybe also to try to improve on the system as reagrds food distribution.

Female 19 Australia I think the event was very well organised for the number of people that needed to be catered for. Well done! and thanks

Female 16 Australia i think the avaliability of food should have been thought out better because on one or two days my group and i didnt get lunch because there was no food left anywhere

Male 19 United States I think that you did a great job. I know that it must be hard to organize food and volunteers for so many WYD events, but my group was always fed and happy. We always thanked every volunteer as we passed them. Thank you so much for doing this. I am so excited for the next one!

Female 16 Australia I think that there isnt really anything that needs changing. I love the experience and am hoping to attend in 2011

Female 25 Kenya I think that the WYD 2008 team really tried considering the magnitude of the event. My only relevant comment is that something should be done about the food given at WYD, the quality should be improved.

Male 61 Australia I think that the most important improvement that needs to be made is in the uper level of organisation and this should be passed down to everyone. Being part of WYD is a serious commitment and anyone involved in the organisation should be made to realsie that it is not just going to be a chance to visit another country but a responsibility.

Male 20 United States I think that the food arrangements could have bben planned better. Throughout WYD the meals were constantly repeated. For example there was too much canned tuna and throughout the week. A bit more variety would be better.

Female 41 Canada I think that the Aussie and Kiwis did a marvelous job organizing all the activities. It was the most civilized WYD I have attended. I really appreciated the flush toilets (even though they were closed for most of the vigil and morning Mass) and the hot food(although it was a long line up for food because it was not staffed well). The Holy Father was whisked by too quickly during his motorcade after we missed lunch and waited all day to get a good glimps and photo opportunity...we didn't get either. That was probably my biggest disappointment. There were also not enough big screen TVs at the sites and the sound system was a little weak. It was a

109

challenge to see and hear what was happening on the stage. I think that took away from what could have been a better WYD experience. Overall, well done Australia!

Female 22 New Zealand I think that small countries that may have a large amount of people like Samoa for example, half of their group went missing due to misunderstanding directions, should have at least a guider so then no one gets lost and miss out on events they should be a part of. Better guidance of the place.

Female 54 Australia I think that htings went as well as they did because of the goodwill of the people of Sydney and the enthusiasm of the pilgrims rather than the organisation. Lots of people didn't get the correct paperwork and infomation coming out of the Parramatta diocese was limited. We had lots of questions which went unanswered, but the experience was awesome.

Male 25 Australia I think Sydney done a fantasic job in terms of organisation and nothing could be improved

Female 17 Australia i think some thing were very boring things should be done is smaller groups so that it is eaiser to feel the holy spirit

Female 21 Indonesia i think it's good for World Youth Day Sydney 2008. Maybe, can give chance for many pilgrims can meet with Pope Benedict... cause I want....

Male 29 United States I think it would be beautiful to expose the WYD pilgrims in Madrid to the Eastern Churches of our Catholic family. I am a Malankara Catholic and am ready to help with something like arranging a Malankara Liturgy and materials for catechesis during the days of World Youth Day in Madrid.

Female 24 Australia I think it was organised very well. Thank you all who helped put such a great experience together. Everything was fantastic!!!

Male 33 Australia I think it was organised very well. It's not easy to do and the organisers should be very happy.

Female 29 Australia I think it was all very well organised and easy to get information. I was a bit disappointed that when we got to the race course the people around as volunteers didn't seem to know much about where the Pope would be, where the stage was, etc. We spent a lot of time walking all over the place to find out. I thought the layout of the race course was average. Lots of people couldn't see the Pope or even a screen. He should have been in the middle.

Female 20 United States I think having host families was the best way to have people stay in another country because you got to learn so much more about the country you are staying in and about some of the different aspects of the Cathoic faith they believed in.

Male 27 Ecuador I think every young man must be encouraged to do something like this.. maybe after a catechesis for preparation before or during WYD.

Female 36 Australia I think because of the large scale of it, they did well. The local offices set up helped a lot and the training offered. I believe a greater team that went out to work locally with parishes for guidance etc could have helped. We had a lot of veteran youth workers so we were okay but generally people need assitance and enthusiasm for this stuff to get it going. We held two big fundraisers that were also ways for the parish and schools to know what was going on - it was not all about numbers but a feeling of being part of the journey even if they didnt go to Syndey so

110

the local offices could have a section dedicated to this part as well. Thanks for the opportunity to reflect. Bern

Male 17 New Zealand I think an idea could be to have a few 'lost pilgrim' tents scattered around the place could be an idea...I got lost alot, it would make life easier finding the group again...Also getting food on the first night was a nightmare...otherwise, the organisation was terrific...great job everyone well done!

Female 19 Australia I think all things went well, very well organised!!

Female 17 Australia I think all staff and volunteers did a fantastic job for WYD in Sydney 2008 and I would definately like to congratulate them. I think that everything was relatively well organised and ran smoothly. Weel done!!!

Female 21 Australia I think all in all it actually was organised very well. Although I remember going to a meeting in the beginning and being told that it would be a 'green WYD'. Yet being there I couldn't believe how much waste we were creating i.e. plastic etc and electricity.

Female 16 Australia I take my hat off to all the organisors of WYD. You all did a fantastic job with everything. I can't complain about anything but now I see why cars were invented!! Great job on everything!!!

Female 16 Philippines I suggest that WYD'11 would have pilgrim passports (like the ones in WYD08) that will allow pilgrims easy, free transportation and food vouchers as well. Other than that, the grace of the Holy Spirit will take action. No need to worry, my brothers and sisters in Christ, GOD WILL PROVIDE. Have faith! God bless! Thank you for the WYD08 organizers - WYD has changed my life!

Female 23 Malaysia I suggest that they have food available to pilgrims at better locations. As far as I can recall, the food were available at 6 points all in the city. When we attended the Asian Youth Gathering in Homebush, the leaders had to get the food from the city and then bring it all the way. I suggest that more time be given to be spent with host families...however, I do understand that events are hard to organize without taking up time for travelling especially.

Female 51 United States I still can't believe the hot meals, running water and flush toilets, friendly Sydneysiders, no problems what so ever - peaceful neighborhood (by Marcelin College even at 11:30 pm and even in the ER!) Please - is there any way you can work with a dress code in Madrid. I hate to say it, but the Spanish girls don't cover up. I fear with the heat in August, I won't have any where to look with my eyes. This aspect of MODESTY was terrific in Sydney with the winter temperatures! We didn't seem to have enough schedules to check like for example, where Tony Mendez would be playing, or Archbishop Chaput speaking -- but maybe our bags got missed, or I was too tired. The BackPacks were out of this world -- so professional and so filled with everything we needed. The silver blankets were a life-saver... just like the thin woolen blankets were asked and were allowed to take from Qantas Airlines from Los Angeles, CA-USA. The Qantas Airline wool socks never left my feet on Saturday & Sunday. I liked the food - I know my 17 girls ages 16-27 were a little tired of the soup supper, but I had different flavors every night and thought the bread and oh those DESSERTS were so good - I can taste them now. To be honest we were in an unheated day school for 930 boys, so we were cold in the classrooms at night -- so my night under the stars was warmer than in the school. But the Brothers bent over backwards to help us!!! The hot coffee was the best in the morning with even the hot ham croissants - you people were unbelieveable!!!! Our Schoenstatt Sisters have been to every WYD under the sun, this was my first one, and IT IS THE # 1 event! Thank you for the free transportation - I only had to wait the

111

opening night for some buses and on Friday as the streets were closed already on some lanes. Otherwise we loved it and stepped right up and got a seat! The BUS DRIVERS were Terrific as we had one girl in a wheel chair (happened the 2nd night) and they took care of her!!! I guess I have to tell you that the Sisters tease me about Murphy's Law - and I didn't get much sleep as the girls were up late and out early and we really did see Sydney. Plus the ER with a fluke bus gas drop in eye of the girl in the wheelchair on Friday evening, but I only felt the strong help of everyone in Sydney!! The bus conversations or on the wharf and ferry were all so pleasant!! I would have loved to meet Cardinal Pell - that is my one sadness, but he was always gone so fast... We really want to thank you all - I am ashamed that I got right into so much work when I got back, but I could send you our 24 page newsletter of what we wrote about the trip if you are interested. My email is [email protected] Oh, I guess I could go on all night - there are so many good good good things you did for us. Like the WYD Website where we could get really nice pictures to share with our hometown parishes and so on - thanks for providing it! GOD BLESS YOU!

Male 25 Australia I SPENT EASTER IN MALAGA SPAIN IN 2008 GOD IS VERY SACRED FOR THEM THEY TAKE A WHOLE WEEK OF WORK KIDS DONT GO TO SCHOOL FOR A WHOLE WEEK I SAW ALOT OF DEDICATION AND GENIUNE LOVE FOR OUR FATHER IN HEVEN I AM KEEN TO GO TO MADRID WYD 2011 BECAUSE I FEEL IT WILL BE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE AND MORE TRUE TO THE FAITH I DONT THINK IT WILL BE COMMERCIALIST LIKE SYDNEY 2008.

Female 48 Australia I should say that I only went on the last Saturday and Sunday to Sydney. In addition, we hosted two billets from South Africa for a number of days. The events associated with the latter within our parish and the diocese were very well organised, although there were hickups with the arrivals and getting buses here in time. We also got to know about the identity of our billets only a few days before they arrived. That was a bit odd, but did not matter in the scheme of things. The whole process of getting tickets for the events in Sydney was overly convoluted and appeared to me extremely time-consuming for the local volunteers/coordinators. And the closer it got to WYD, the more chaotic it got with the registration website overloaded or not excepting all information, etc. I am sure that could have been organised differently, e.g. Australian registrations and coordination of buses could possibly have been handled through the dioceses. I was appalled by the final mass, though, although I liked what the pope said and taught. However, the mass was not a community event with hymns that nobody could participate in (after all, isn't singing a very important way of praying together?), Latin prayers (How many youth nowadays know any Latin? Certainly not a single Australian I know.), readings and prayers read in foreign languages without translation at least into English (Wouldn' t it have been possible to project the English translations on the screens?). At least, most people would have understood the texts then. Similarly, if Latin prayers had to be included, they could have been projected on the screen as well as the texts of the hymns. I felt very lucky to have studied Latin and French and to have known the Latin versions of the prayers. To me, the final mass gave the impression of a performance, a circus designed to try to impress the Holy Father but with scant consideration to the vast majority of the audience. And I am sure I was not the only one who felt like that. I was sitting beside a group of Italians who were very enthusiastic at the start of the mass, but after a while started talking and doing other things. The obviously had lost interest. What a pity! And from all the reports I had heard before, a stark contrast to what happened at Cologne.

Male 35 Australia I registered online to go to wyd Sydney and when I arrived was told I could not go to papal mass until I purchase some back pack for $200, even though I already registered for free online to go to wyd to see the pope, goto mass, free spiritual food, experience a sense of sharing community. I made the most of what I could and was able to enter without paying

112

Male 32 Malaysia I registered for package c, not realising that I have only the weekends pass. So I miss out a lot even I was there from the very first day. I would suggest that there are to be more options as many pilgrims are journeying to Sydney without a group. I met many people, even priests who had to register with a group to get themselves registered. And they need to go and collect their registration pack. There should be individual registration to cater for many who would like to go alone to have a look. It will encourage more people from other faiths to join because most of them don't come in groups. Registration process can be improved to reduce queueing time, and best to have a registration in a hall or auditorium as while waiting, the pilgrims can at least sit. If there is electronic notice board located at each strategic area to update pilgrims on any changes of venue or events. I went to a forum to find out that the forum was in spanish while the booklets stated the event is in English. Wasted the whole afternoon. Thanks for the effort and God Bless!

Female 21 Philippines i really want to go to wyd2011 but sad to say i cant because of financial reason... but i am still looking forward that even though i cant attend the wyd2011 i will still be updated about what is happening there.

Male 14 Australia I really liked WYD08, but I only attended the Final Mass. I went with my family and my uncle's family. Registration was confusing and getting passes was difficult. Buying WYD apparel was very badly serviced, but I received my orders. The publicity was very good, and I saw the Pope!

Female 24 Canada i really liked the idea of flushing toilets, but when they didn't work, it really was not cool! also, the grass protector plastic at the race-way, was very nice. it helped to keep us clean and dry! the food was ok, but we all got really sick of stew by the second day, and people who didn't like it in the first place where quite put out that there was not more variety for the suppers. the organization and numerous volunteers were wonderful! it really helped with our navigation through the city.

Female 17 Canada I really hope the food that comes out at Madrid will be healthier.

Female 48 Australia I really feel the area of Lost property fell down. I feel that my camera was stolen outside the toilets when I put it down yes not such a good idea but I was really taken back that it was gone and was hoping that maybe some good person thought it was lost and perhaps handed it in or maybe didn't know what to do with it. I never did get it back. The Lost property area needed to be more advertised and a definite area put aside. I kept getting redirected in so many areas It was so frustrating. no-one seemed to know where to send me. One place should be kept aside and people told to go there or put lost property only at that place and follow up phone numbers for WYD lost property advertised. Also on the walk to the Final Mass their needs to be transport for those who really can't make the distance. I am diabetic and I thought I can't make the distance and when I asked if there was transport I was told there was none so I kept going and I was absolutely exhausted when I arrived. I kept eating to keep my sugar levels up to keep going.

Male 28 Australia I realize that there is a huge clean-up effort to be made after WYD, but I was wondering if there was a department specifically dedicated to ensuring that the aura associated with the event did not fade away. Seven people from my group agreed to make an effort to attend mass together every weekend. Now there're just two of us - and we had been going every weekend anyway. I almost feel as if we have failed to reiterate the requirement in Canon Law of attendance at Mass each weekend. Our Signadou campus has been excellent at organizing follow-up events for our pilgrim group. But I am left with the feeling that WYD initiated a surge in Mass attendance in the youth demographic that was only temporary; I naturally feel slightly challenged with once again sitting in a congregation of retirees.

113

Male 41 Australia I praise all the people, volunteers, Church personnel and the Government who helped organise such a grand event.

Female 22 Singapore I personally understand that the organisation has lots of logistics to take care of and would prefer that pilgrims were in groups. However, on my journey, i met a few people who did not have a group to travel to WYD with and were left stranded. One girl i met at days in the diocese in melbourne did not get her accomodation in sydney and luckily for her she had a friend who was living in sydney at this time. Maybe it would be possible to group these 'ungrouped pilgrims' together so they won't be stranded alone.

Female 26 United States I participated in a large American-Lithuanian Catholic group during the Toronto WYD and during Sydney I formed a group with just me and my little sister since nobody else we knew were going. It was a completely different experience. I felt like we got lost in all of the administrative shuffle. One of the worst experiences was when we were sent to stay in the middle of nowhere suburbs 2 hours away and the host-school wasn't even open! After spending 4 hours getting there and three hours waiting and praying that someone would show up so that we could get our badges and backpacks for the Opening Mass, we returned to the city defeated- missed Opening Mass. It was horrible. Considering the fact that we missed out on 1/7th of our WYD experience after traveling from so far away was devastating. Before coming to Sydney, we tried to join a Chicago diocese but we also got lost in the shuffle there (since we're part of the Lithuanian parish in Chicago). Registration itself was a nightmare. The website that was used was terrible and constantly had problems. I had to call Australia three times. Even with all these complaints though, the soul of WYD is amazing and I am so happy I was able to go.

Female 19 Australia I only found a few flaws in WYD08, some of which im sure could not be helped. the registration was a very tedious process, it took me at least an hour to register which was very annoying and frustrating, although i really wanted to come so i guess there was no way around it. another flaw as i saw it was there was not enough time to get between events, eg. my chatacesis was at st pius college, which was out of the city, when we got to the city it was rather easy to get lost as i am not a sydney folk. this was not the only stopping, when arriving at the gates for events it took hours to get into the stadium, and most of us were rushed due to transport and other events finishing late. it put a lot of stress on us, and found it somewhat harder to relax. i also found that there were a lot of diversions in getting from place to place, eg, when going back to the trainstation from Barangaroo, no only were we not allowed to go via the closest station, but we had to walk to darling harbour, then BACK to the original station. it was a huge stress, as some of out group members were not that great on their feet, and it was late at night and everyone was worn out from a huge day the food, was quite revolting, well only dinners. lunches were good considering. i understand that there were thousands of people needing to be fed, and it was the easiest meals im sure, but i was unable to stomache the food. other than that the standad of WYD was very high, and i will certainly be going ot the next

Female 19 New Zealand I never knew what was going on, where anything was happening or how to get anywhere. Clear signs and announcments of each event prior to that event happening would have been great. Maybe even a little momentum to remind us of where we went, why we went there and what happened. Dates are all jumbled and confused.

Male 41 South Africa i must say that the event was very well arranged and that the country did a good job veery well prepared and also at the schools we stayed. transport was excellent.I managed to get around and everybody was so friendly and helpfull.

Female 30 New Zealand I loved volunteering but would have like one night free to properly partake in WYD events. Also I was not sure that I was 'home free' as a volunteer as I did not

114

recieve the final and important info until the day before WYD. AS a result I registered twice to make sure I was going and paid up unnecessarily as a pilgrim.

Female 27 United States I loved the flushing toilets. That was awesome! The registration process was not done very well. I had no idea where to pick up my materials and then I stood in line for HOURS and was told to leave and come back the next day where I again waited for over an hour to get my materials. It was horrible. There was not enough clarity about where and how to obtain materials. Also the maps that were provided were absolutely the worst maps I had ever seen in my life and I was constantly lost and relying on kind Sydneysiders to direct me. It was awful. Maps with actual street names on them would be helpful. I was never told my catechesis site. I just tagged along to a random catechesis site that someone else was going to. I still have no idea where I was supposed to have gone. Clarity in directions and where I should be going would have been helpful. Fortunately I was a native English speaker!

Female 20 United States i loved that the events were throughout sydney, from circular quay to the botanic gardens to bondi beach!

Female 31 Canada I LOVED staying with host families!!

Female 18 Australia I loved staying with billets, gave a chance to realy bond with them over the week and make life long friends!

Female 24 Australia I loved it, the only thing that i had issues with was the showers. Having thousands of females 1/4 of which will be experiencing 'that time of the month' and not giving them a private area to shower was disgusting. It was something that significantly affected my experience. Congratulations to the food preparation team, a very difficult job done very well! Our accommodation locked the doors at 10pm, which meant that in order to attend night seminars and catch the 1/2 hour bus ride home, we had to climb a fence and have one of the other pilgrims open the door for us. Fun times!!!

Female 17 Australia i loved it it was well organised and the volunteers were so much help. i dont really think that it could be improved

Male 20 Canada I love Taizé but it was difficult finding the place. Next time there could be a Map to show where all of the activities are and to give the list of activities in the backpack to everyone. I would like it if the location of the next WYD would not be given to the public until it's confirmed by the pope at the final mass, everyone was talking that the next one is in Madrid. Part of the fun of the previous WYD was to anticipate the pope's announcement.

Male 24 Australia I live in Sydney, and i have to get this off my chest. I WAS SICK IN THE STOMACH FROM THE POLICE PRESENCE. I was literally interrogated by two cops at the Pope's arrival because of the flag I was carrying. I really can't let this issue go. I remember these two cops faces and i will not forget them. If Australia has another WYD, can i strongly recommend that the number of volunteer security or professional security be increased and the number of police be decreased. I had reports from other pilgrims about the same type of treatment from police, and had i remembered the badge numbers from these two idiots, i would have called the police ombudsman. But as you may or may not know, they do a good job at crowd control by hiding or removing their badges and wearing leather gloves so they don't leave any trace of their own identity.

115

Female 23 India I know what it is like to make arrangements for such a huge crowd but if possible i feel cultural aspects could be kept in mind with regards to common showers in the school accomodation.

Female 24 Malaysia I know this is a very big event but its good to have a ice-breaker for the youth to know each other. :)

Male 20 Ireland I know Madrid will be VERY hot in the middle of the summer, so possibly water stations or free water could be put in place. Transport in Madrid is very efficient, so I have no doubt it will be just as much a success as Sydney!

Female 32 United Kingdom I know its not easy, but the organisers shld try and employ more hands in the food aspect, to aviod long queue; but i must confess they REALLY AND TRUELLY tried, just a bit more.

Female 46 New Zealand I know a number of people who did consider going to WYD because they believed it was solely for young people. I think this is a shame. I understand it is predominantly for the youth but not exclusively. I am 46 and I brought my 3 children aged 10-13 and it was a great experience for all of us. Perhaps some promotion that includes other ages, especially adults. Thanks

Female 25 Philippines I just would like to comment on the food during the WYD.. I wasnt really pleased with eting caned foods and presrved foods most of the time.. but, generally, the service was great..

Male 21 France I just want to thank you for sending this online survey. I hope what I've done will be heplful for preparing the next WYD in Madrid, Spain. I did like everything in Sydney last July but I would've prefered another colour for the backpacks... Anyway I thank the organising team very much, that was an awesum experience. I look forward to going to WYD 2011!!

Male 21 Philippines I just want to suggest that a better toilet system should be utilized in the next WYD especially in the vigil venue.

Male 24 Singapore I just want to say that you guys have done a good job. The participation and sincere volunteerism shown by the Sydnesiders was really heart wartwarming.

Male 25 Netherlands i just had an experience with WYD, that's all I need :) Cheers!!

Female 28 Singapore i hope WYD2011 will still be as organized or even much more as WYD2008 despite the fact that we expect more pilgrims to go to madrid.

Female 20 Australia I hope there will more spiritual activities but not in boring way. So WYD is not just to meet new people but also to deeper our faith to God which is more important. Thanks.

Male 34 Australia I hope the organisation of madrid 2011 will be done the same as sydney 2008 if not better with the positive and negative reponses people give through these surveys and contacts.

Female 17 Australia I hope the next World Youth Day will provide more opportunities for those who wants to participate but is prevented of either their disdvantages or personal-life aspects.

Female 36 Philippines i hope that the registration will be much accessible and nearer to the airport for all the pilgrims.

116

Female 23 Australia I hope Spain people wont feed all the pilgrims with all the junk food (lunch) as what happened in Sydney. Also, wont send people from one part to another because there were no more hot food.

Female 24 United States i hope its as organized as the Sydney One Because the one in Cologne was terribly organized

Female 26 Indonesia I hope it will be more organized for the volunteer's roles and works. Thanks.

Female 24 United States i honestly had no problems and i really liked that there were showers brought in for us and none of the food lines where long. also the help with transportation was great becuase coming from a city with bascially not mass trasnit system, i had no experience with anything but driving myself form place to place. also i always felt safe at night when we stayed in the dome at olympic park becuase of the amount of people that volunteered to help wathc over us.

Male 22 Indonesia I heard from other pilgrims that WYD 2008 was more like a concert. Singing and concert everywhere, there are not much active involvement of the people as what they had experienced back in Cologne or previous WYD. Maybe more activities like praying together or anything other than concert should be promoted clearly as well.

Female 57 Philippines I have to give it to Australia for such a very efficient planning for the World Youth Day. They have outdone themselves in the preparation. Despite some detractions, everything is OZZI , OZZI!! I have written made a photojournal/article about my pilgrims experience in Australia. Any way I could publish it on the net?

Female 16 Australia i have never been to a wyd before and this was my 1st i would have to say i believe it was very well organised and i enjoyed it there was a let down in the food that was recieved though as many people in my group recieved half frozen pies at the opening mass at barangaroo and also i found that the other dinner meals werent that appealing however i do understand that preparation fro these meals was hard as it was a very large crowd and there isnt much else that would be appropriate ... hope this helps

Female 43 India I HAVE MANY YOUTHS THAT WERE INTERESTED IN COMING FOR THE WORLD YOUTH DAY FROM MY HOME TOWN IN INDIA (KHARAGPUR-WEST BENGAL), BUT ARE FINANCIALLY NOT WELL OFF, I NEED SOMEONE TO SPONCER FOR US, SINCE I HAD TO PAY FOR MY TICKET FOR THE WYD08, COULD NOT AFFORD IT, BUT BORROWED THE MONEY JUST TO SEE THE POPE WHO TAKES THE PLACE OF JESUS. I WOULD LOVE TO ATTEND THE WYD IN MADRID IN 2011 IF IT IS GODS WISH & PLAN. I WOULD LIKE EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT THERE IS NOTHING ON THIS EARTH WHICH IS EVERLASTING, BUT BY CHANGING OUR LIVES WE ARE COMING CLOSER TO JESUS WHO WILL TAKE US TO HEAVEN WHERE THERE IS EVERLASTING HAPPINESS WITH HIS HOLY ANGELS.

Female 29 Canada I have little to no complaints regarding the Organizational aspect. The crowd control during the Stations of the Cross was frustrating as it was a little much. I got stuck in a very tight crowd and separated from my group for almost an hour when they closed off a pod for some people to come through (they should have closed it off right before the people came through, rather than so long before). There was no access to bathrooms or water during this time. And after final mass, it was disappointing to discover that organization of crowds seemed to end there. It was complete and utter chaos trying to leave the event site and enter onto the trains. I'm quite surprised

117

that people weren't trampled or crushed upon entering the Museum station. We were a small group to begin with (14) and we ended up separated into small groups of 2-3 people by the time we returned to our host parish. It also would have been nicer to have healthy food choices for the overnight vigil. The food quality at the beginning of the week was pretty decent, and seemed to diminish throughout the week. Too much sugary, fatty junk food. I'm thankful for our host parish, who always made sure we had plenty of healthy choices for food throughout the week - with or without a meal ticket! It was not made clear to us that we were to register with our host parish, so our group went first to Olympic stadium. I received very little communication on that aspect of it. Our accomdations were great. We were fortunate enough to have homestay with wonderful & gracious host families. It would have been nice if youth festival events were easier to find/ closer to main events. I feel if I'd been able to attend more youth festival events, I would have got way more out of the week. And that youth festival events could run during main events so that some coudl appreciate being in the large crowds, and others could appreciate being in intimate venues. Transportation was very efficient and well done. Sydney transit employees were friendly and courteous and awesome! Volunteers were helpful throughout the week - until the end. When my cousin lost her camera, and we were trying to find a lost and found outlet. We passed an entire crowd of volunteers who must have been done their duties, because no one offered any help when we asked. Security was friendly & helpful.

Male 28 Australia I have done a number of surveys now and i would like to at least read the results. Could they be emailed- or at least this one.

Female 42 Canada I have been to 3 World Youth Days, this was BY FAR the best organized and I got the most out of it. The only complaint I have is about the food. Well done! Hope Madrid does as well!

Male 25 Sudan I have already accepting their organising things and i'm really happy with the arrangement and thank God to be in WYD and I wish to go again if there is any offer asisst again from my Parish.

Female 43 Philippines I have a friend who informed and requested WYD registration committee if they could reimburse her registration fee because of some reasons she could no longer come with us to Sydney. WYD08 have responded that her request have been forwarded to the accounting department,and they will get back to her after some days, that was before the event, but until now there is no reimbursement yet and worst, WYD committee doesn't respond anymore to her since early September. We would appreciate if you could facilitate us to the department and give us the contact email address of appropriate department. My friend is truly asking for help on this matter. Considering that she comes from a resource limited country. You may contact my email [email protected]. Thank you so much.

Male 50 United States I have a feeling that even though the economic situation in America is very bad right now, GOD will find a way for us to make it to Madrid in 2011. Our experience in Sydney was very positive in terms of being organized and feeling secure in a foreign land for the first time, I hope that Madrid will be the same, even though the main spoken language is not English.

Female 18 Australia I HATE curry in a bag... food was very average but there was lots of it. Toilets kept running out of paper at Randwick. Merchandise was too expensive.

Female 22 Hong Kong I had some trouble with the registration system in the beginning. I had two names (english and chinese names) and as a result I was recognised by the system as two separate people. But in the end it was sorted out so it was not a big problem. The only thing I had complaint about was food at Randwick. There was not enough food (paid or unpaid) and everything available

118

at the stalls was overpriced. On the Sunday when we were leaving Randwick, everyone was really hungry. I understand that was part of the experience but having to walk on empty stomach for five hours was a bit tough for some people.

Male 30 Malaysia I had real trouble with Egeria. There were lots of minor mistakes in it. One of which is the payment page that was not updated after payment was made. One of the fields for minors kept on resetting everytime I logged in (can't remember which field). There were funny questions asking if we were from the Straits Islands even though our nationality was already clearly given. ALso, the Africans who were studying in Malaysia were not able to get visas even though we followed the instructions to the lettter. The meaning of 'Country of Residence' in registration must be clarified. Are African students studying in Malaysia should put 'Malaysia' as their country of residence. If so, then they belong to Group 1 Country and had to pay Group 1 pilgrim package. But this is not fair to them. They are just studying here. It does not mean that their income is the same as Malaysians; they don't have income in the firt place.

Female 25 Canada I had like to have some help in French. Everything was in English,Spanish and Chinese in Australia, but we were many French speaker and we didn't have a lot of informations in French.

Male 17 New Zealand I had been to Cologne in 2005 and the transport and lines for food had been quite a disaster there, so I was very impressed by the organisation in Sydney. The volunteers were very friendky. One suggestion is that the pilgrims who have travelled the furthest (example. Germant to Australia) should have the best seats at the final celebration.

Female 58 Australia I had Asthma attack during Benediction at Randwick on Vigil Night and I was excorted to First Aid tent. Stayed there for 2 hours and was made to walk right out of the camping area still sick as the buggies would not give a lift to the road to get a taxi to the hotel. Finally a forklift driver delivering goods gave me a lift to the road - about another km away and by chance a cab arrived to let down some paxs., however the roads werre closed so the cab driver could only drop us 1 km from the hotel and we had to walk up the hill in the cold and asthma/flu. I was then taken to St. Vincents Hosp the next day for medication and a check up. Thgere should have been transport to transport the sick out of Randwick to a place where a cab can be caught..... and closed roads to be open for the sick to return to their hotel front door.

Female 27 United States I had a serious concern about the bathrooms. When we were at the Vigil, the bathrooms in our area were progressively screwed shut so that we could not use them. I know that the water was not working for awhile. However, we were not told where else we could go to use facilities or an estimate about when the bathrooms would be reopened. Simply more and more stalls were closed. My group members who tried to find other restrooms at the race course said that the same thing was happening in other sections of the race course. Since this went on from late afternoon until the end of the closing mass, we began to get desperate. The lines were long most of the time for the remaining handful of stalls that were open. In fact, the remaining stalls were open mostly because people pried the screws loose so that we could at least use the toilets, even though there was no way to flush because they were so badly plugged. I realize that unexpected issues occur with facilities when large events are held and I realize that it is hard to meet the needs of groups when they contain thousands of people. However, we did not have any other options for using the bathroom, and stranding several thousand youth in an area with very limited bathroom facilities for almost twenty-four hours is inappropriate, unhealthy, disturbing, and dangerous. Better communication, some backup plans, and more plumbers would have helped. Please continue to work on this aspect for the next WYD so that other pilgrims can spend the time at their vigil praying, rather than suffering in long bathroom lines and worrying that they will not make it to a toilet in time. We would appreciate that! Thank you!

119

Female 21 United States I had a hard time getting answers to questions I had in the process of applying. I would send emails, but it seemed to take forever for them to be answered. I would send an email and not get a response sometimes for two weeks or more. Perhaps having more people working on answering emails, and making the website more userfreindly would make the process more enjoyable in the future.

Female 43 Australia I guess organisational issues such as food queues and the placing and functioning of toilets (especially at Randwick)may always be an issue in such large crowds. However the exit of pilgrims from Randwick could have been better organised, as the sick, ederly and young children in the crowd about me were quite distressed by the long and slow procession to central station, particualry as there we no facilites for water, toilets and first aid along the route and especially along Doncaster avenue where some pilgims like ouselves were 'trapped' for some hours!

Female 21 Australia i got home hungry, tired and trust me i have been camping before. this experience just made me realise how lucky i am at home to have warm water and pads 'which i really needed back there even that when i wasn't expecting my period' terrific!

Female 37 United States I got a severely sprained ankle my first full day in Sydney and while the staff in the medical tents were very courteous, there needed to be more there to help those that were injured and needed more medical attention. I would have like to have gotten access to a pair of crutches to help me walk around Barangaroo/Sydney the rest of the that day instead of having to spend almost 4 hours in an empty emergency room in the late hours of the night after I had returned back to my hotel after the opening mass. Also, the backpacks that my group received after we checked into Sydney were all missing items that were supposed to be included. For future, while I'm aware of the high numbers of backpacks that need to be put together, it would be nice if they all had the merchandise in them that were given out to all pilgrims. Our group leaders tried to get the missing items, but had no such luck.

Male 23 Australia I found the whole event to be very well organised, mainly because of so many volunteers.

Female 20 United States I found the organisation to be great. The only hiccup I can recall is trying to find a place to camp at Ranwick. Everything else, food, and traffic, the bathrooms at the Vigil, everything was done in a reasonable time. I was not distracted by chaos, I don't recall it in my experience, so it must have been great.

Female 60 Australia I found the legalism involved in putting on the Youth Festival event excessive and made life very difficult for all three of our groups involved. Getting the registration tags was horrible. Not knowing the name of the venue till 2 weeks before was quite problematic. Being told we could not advertise who we were, what we do and why was also problematic. We were very glad of the opportunity to put on Columban Youth Theatre of the Oppressed. We were extremely disappointed with the arrangements that led to such a small crowd turning up on the night after we had put so much effort in. The event manager at the venue was a great support at this difficult time. We had very good evangelisation resources but found it difficult to get them out to pilgrims. Improvements on these situations would add to the next WYD.

Female 21 Canada I found that the organization for this past WYD seemed to be much more organized in terms of food, facilities, accommodation than my previous experiences at the past two WYDs. Although, I think that more screens so that we could see better of what was going on would've been very nice. It was hard to see I found, especially depending on what section you were

120

in. There only seemed to have been a few screens, and they were only in the front. And so, didn't really help all that much for people further away.

Female 57 Canada I found everything ran very smoothly. We had a bit of wait for the food but it was lots of fun. At the evening Vigil the group next to us were up all night. Their singing was beautiful, but I feel they should have settled down around 1 am, as we were all very tired. But I guess that is God's presence among us.

Female 44 Philippines I find the organization of WYD 2008 very helpful as I was able to organize my small group on my own. The website provided a lot of information that allowed me to choose and research about the parishes for the Days in the Diocese (DOD), among other things. It was also good that the web allowed me to coordinate directly with the parishes for the DOD. This was at the start of 2008. When WYD was getting closer, I experienced problems with registration (reconciling payments and our final parish destination for the WYD). Having so many activities happening at the same time in different areas prevented us from attending some of them. This is because we dont know how long it would take us to get to another point. This is because it normally is our first time to be in Sydney. There was also not much interaction with the host parish (Catechesis) during the WYD.

Male 60 Australia I felt the registration process could have been better organized in a bigger and more public area - it could have been an significant public 'event' rather than a 'back-street process' hidden from view. Otherwise I was impressed with the smooth organization of all the events. Many of us were concerned with the amount of food wasted at the end of each meal.

Female 49 Australia I felt the City of Sydney did a FANTASTIC JOB and opened their arms to the pilrims in a wonderful way! I felt the food was too much the same each day and a little too hard to manage. I also felt the distribution of food was confusing and not very helpful. It actually caused a few issues in our group.

Female 19 United States I felt that it was very organized. we didnt have any problems finding where to go and there wasnt too long of a wait.

Female 16 United States i felt that having some opportunity to break into mixed grroups guring catechesis, would have been nice. this would give us some time to actually discuss our faith with people of other cultures, and make a stronger connection.

Female 46 United States I felt that all went very well. It was organized etc.

Female 19 United States I felt like the food menu should have been changed a little bit. We ate the exact same meal at least 4 days in a row. I understand it is very difficult to distribute that much food to so many people, but I feel like the food standard was way below what it could have been. Also, more food should have been available after the opening mass. I waited (I think) about 2 hours for my dinner, because there was only one tent distributing food. It would be a good idea to have some restaurants around the city participate in selling food for pilgrims. If we could use our tickets for food at different restaurants, this may lighten the load for the main food distributors.

Female 23 Canada I felt like everything was planned out quite well. having gone to the previous WYD'05 in Cologne, there were significant changes in organization. Transportation was a lot better and a lot safer in some ways. The security leading us through the streets and into the sites were done very well. It was nice to know that we couldn't get lost along the way to the sites. The food and meal distribution was excellent. Very easy to get them and having being able to keep the green

121

bags after were very useful. It was definitely more organized then previous WYD's and i was very much appreciative. Thanks for making it a great experience!

Female 31 United States I felt it was all well organized. We had a travel agency here in the United States (Youth in Europe in New Mexico) who we worked with and had lots of WYD experience. They answered all my questions and told me everything I needed to know and what to expect. Having a company available to do that made all the difference in the world!

Female 22 Australia I feel the Papal Mass was not really YOUTH oriented. It was nice that we have an orchestra and talented opera singers and all that stuff, but the music and the mass were not INCLUSIVE of all the young people who were there to celebrate - it should have been easy to follow and join in with, instead of being a performance. And having the Our Father in LATIN instead of just inviting people to pray in whatever language they felt was a TERRIBLE idea! We should have been able to experience that prayer in whichever way we wanted, to be able to share it in a universal way, hearing all the different languages but understanding what each other were saying at the same time.

Male 21 Malaysia I feel the organization of WYD 08 was excellent..not too many flaws..probably the way the Way of The Cross event was done shoul be evaluated as the crowd easily got distracted during the procession.

Male 26 United States I feel that the orginisation was a bit poor overall, but can't be helped for an event of this size. The one thing that caught my attention was that the location to recieve food was just too far from everything else. It took a lot of time out of the day just to go and get the food with the tickets.

Female 25 Ireland I feel that maybe there could have been some more events in a central Church where people could pray or adore the Blessed Sacrament like there was in the tent in Randwick.

Female 43 Australia I feel that being able to pick up forms for registration at parish houses would help many. That food be avilable for those at Mass and vigial practise. That maps be handed out of Mass venue so that people could get about much easier. Not all of the volunteers could read a map and they were the only ones with them. That any one involved with the Mass or vigal be accomodated next to the venue. Being in a strange city and having to get around it to time tables that did not match the city is hopeless. I nearly missed a practise due to changes of bus pick up but I had no idea of it and then had to get myself there via system that was being shut out of the venue area. This made things so difficult. Even the bus drivers could not get out of Ranwick when it started to shut down and we would end up drivers around for ages trying to get out and back in time to see the stations of the cross, needless to say we missed out.

Male 31 Australia I expressed a broad interest in media liaison volunteering. After not responding to the application (due to doubts as to whether I could fill the suggested shifts), I then received in short order an 'acceptance' email and a request to send documents. I ignored this but was then sent an email with my 'shifts' as a media liaison! So I thought i'd go along anyway - but when I saw the queues to pick up my pass were 3 hours long and I had Homestays to pick up, I gave up. This really was extremely poorly organised and while I understand the Church was underresourced, why was I being sent emails with shifts and acceptances, when I hadn't even officially applied? But worst of all, as has been well discussed, the process ot pick up volunteer registration packs - waiting 3 hours and being turned away - was very bad.

Male 30 Pakistan I experienced humanity at its full spirit at world youth day. I want to send my regards and well wishes for the old lady at Olympic Park who arranged for me and for my friends

122

home stay and also called a taxi to drop us at the address. I feel deep sense of gratitude for the whole team of world youth day to facilitate such a big crowd in friendly and convenient way. be blessed world youth day team.Keep this spirit up.

Female 49 Philippines I especially enjoyed our time in Brisbane, esp the preparations made by the YOuth Arise International. Our host parish was very accomodating, too. Generally, very organized. Just wish the food (esp the heated meat) was more varied.

Male 38 Australia I enjoyed the total set up for WYD , it was well organised and a credit to all who planned the magnificient event. Well DONE !!!

Male 36 Malaysia I don't fancy going to Spain because European Catholicism is DEAD. Looking back upon WYD Sydney, I have to say that if not for the Americans, Australian Catholicism is also quite DEAD. Get the American speakers: Scott Hahn, Christopher West, Jason Evert as well as the bands like Cheer Up Charlie, Chris Padgett, Matt Maher and others. I really thought that the commercialism was too much. Except for a few, the shirts were poorly designed. I would like to see something on the shirt that tells me its WYD and Australia.

Female 26 China I do hope the organistation can give the prilgrims who are not the official language speakers like me the writtern version of the Pope and the bishop's speaks in the holy Mass during the WYD,even if it's English edition.

Female 19 New Zealand I didn't like the food and the excessive merchandising but other than that, everything was perfect. The organisers did a fantastic job and all the volunteers were helpful. The parish that our group stayed with were very welcoming which added to the whole experience.

Female 44 Australia I didn't expect any accolades, gifts or remuneration for being a homestay host, but I know from talking with other people that there was a sense that we were a largely ignored group. We didn't receive any volunteer items to wear proudly during the event & keep as mementos afterwards - that would have been nice. Yet we gave our homes, time, food, care, friendship etc to strangers for a week. I dropped off & picked up my guests every day, helped with their additional needs (I had 2 priests staying, so that was a little tricky getting extra use of the Church etc), fed them (often early in the morning & late at night), took them to the station at 4am, did their washing, made them daily snack bags etc etc. My daughter gave up her bedroom & (reluctantly, on my son's part) moved in with her brother. A lot of us were in this position yet we were not so much as mentioned in a significant way. I'm a very private person & it was difficult letting strangers into my home (particularly given that they were men - even if they were priests), but I did it anyway. I'm disappointed that I wasn't even referred to as a volunteer because I didn't attend to the masses. I felt we were treated (by WYD organisers) as a convenience to them & nothing more. Having said that, I had a fantastic experience with our pilgrims & would do it again in a flash. I would highly recommend the experience to others, particularly those who have pilgrims living with them (ie; my teenaged children were pilgrims so it was good to have others around who were like minded).

Female 53 New Zealand I didn't complain much about these things.I was wondering if there were enough volunteers to help at that time. We need really heaps of volunteers to make the work smooth.

Female 60 Australia I did not line up for food. The lines were to long. However, this did not bother me.

123

Female 41 Canada I did not have enough time to plan my day to day activity because I did not get the program ahead of time...also for each activity it would be nice to be able to anticipate how long travel would take to get to the venue.

Female 60 Australia I could not speak more highly of the CATECHESIS! It was superb. Profoundly inspiring, the whole experience. WE felt like kings because we had heated rooms even though we were using infants'toilets! It was all good for me.

Male 37 Australia I COULD NOT ATTEND MANY KEY EVENTS LIKE THE ARRIVAL OF THE POPE AND SUCH DUE TO THE CROWD CONTROL STRATEGIES USED IN THIS WYD. TO A CERTAIN EXTEND THESE ARE NECESSARY FOR THE OVERALL SMOOTH OPERATION OF THE EVENT. BUT THEN IT ALSO HAS CAUSED SOME PAIN AND FRUSTRATION IN NOT BEING ABLE TO ATTEND THESE KEY EVENTS. I WISH THAT BEING IN THE PRECINCT OF THE EVENT IS VERY VITAL IN WYD. BIGGER PRECINCTS AND BETTER STRATEGIES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE OVERALL PARTICIPATION, BECAUSE BEING TOGETHER WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD, WITH THE VICAR OF CHRIST IS I BELIEVE THE GOAL OF EVERY PILGRIM.

Female 17 Australia I cant speak spanish :S

Female 46 Australia I can't complain about anything at world youth day. I know we had delays and food ques etc but it was all worth it, I think the organisation overall was absolutely fantastic. It was a truly catholic event.GREAT

Female 29 Ireland I cannot fault WYD08 organisers on anything (apart from schedules of the youth festival activities not being available anywhere for our group to get their hands on! They weren't in our bags). After bringing a group of 150 to WYD in Germany we were not looking forward to another WYD because Germany was (in a group leaders eyes) a distaster. Well done Aussies! I'm apprehensive about bringing a group to Madrid 2011 because it will mean many more people than Sydney and therefore a strain on public transport etc. I might give that job to someone else. But then again, it is a pilgrimage! Sydney was a joy to be involved with and not one thing went wrong for us. Thanks again!

Female 32 Mexico I can say that the difficulties we have with the Accommodation is with families when we have increasing difficult to do that we can share with them, and that's important because if they have the doors of his house is for us to give them the faith we are receiving, so the food really difficult but it is understood that each have their own traditions and culture can not be food for each person, the registration process in my view was much better as they could be subject to all preceso and the organization of the event, for what else are the distance and only if it makes you lose too much time to get from one place to another and that there was no trasportacion a place to the other. Also what I believe and I hope to be able to go to the next WYD is that they can be young and not so young that the event will take 34 years and I expect no less true to say that being able to go.

Female 45 United States I believe it was very well organised but there was too many barricades. I understand they were protecting the locals and allowing them their space but it was difficult moving around quickly since there were no short cuts that we had mapped out before going to Sydney and we weren't able to get to some of the train stations easily, especially from Barangaroo, we missed a lot of our other presentations we signed up for, it took a long while to get out of Barangaroo. DID Maitland New Castle was very well organised, thank you Catherine Cavanaugh. Liked the online registration, really helped, the website was really well put together, I was able to

124

get a lot of information before going so it made things a lot easier for my group. Could have used more toilets in more areas, they were too centralised.

Male 47 Australia I beleive that it is crucial that for religious events such as these administration should have stayed within the religious forum and not given to some outside secular administration which works of minimum workforce for maximum profits and negotiable efficiency. There was no need to place people from tropics into one of the coldest places in Australia for days in the diocese and then to transfer the sick to a vast and cold facility of Sydney olympic village, the hundreds of illnesses and the eventual death of that pilgrim was avoidable.

Male 55 United States I attended WYD in Germany and in Australia. The vigil and overnight experience in Germany was unpleasant due to the cold weather and lack of preparation on the part of our group organizer to sleep on a cold damp field. My overnight experience in Sydney was wonderful. I also appreciated the 'flush toilets'.

Male 34 Canada I appreciated the sense of sacredness in the liturgy great organization (traffic, maps, food) 'too many' good Youth Festival events for the time available :-( (it is hard to get far away in time, without missing some major event) but, fortunately, we have XT3's library! maybe it was only me but I had a hard time finding translations radio stations it was almost perfect! great job, people! I am thankful for all the work you have put in this WYD God bless!

Female 33 Australia I appreciate the complexity of organising such a historical event and I believe that the staff and volunteers worked really hard and I am grateful for having an opportunity to attend the WYD. However, it appeared that project managers/planners could have done a better job in planning, decision making, administration and resource allocation. Dealing with WYD regarding registration, accreditation, obtaining information...has helped us grow tremendously in the virtue of patience as there were delays, lack of clear direction and occasional 'corporate' attitude/talks that I get everyday on the job but did not expect from WYD. From my observation, I also think that we tried a bit too hard to be 'cool' by commercialising and inviting certain high- profile non-Catholics although I do appreciate the fact that the Church may need to show that we're open and accepting.

Female 30 Ireland I am very grateful to each and every volunteer in Sydney who so kindly and lovingly showed us directions, gave info about trains and welcomed us with smile. Sydney welcomed us royaly! Also, I was very happy to see that some other churches and Christian denominations took part in WYD (one of the Anglical churches welcomed Taize brothers etc.). I think there should be even more opportunities for that in the future, WYD can be a door towards fuller unity of the Church.

Female 51 Australia I am truly amazed and grateful to every aspect of organisation for WYD. I cannot express enough how important the role of WYD is in uniting people all over the globe, especialy young people who now have the opportunity to experience genuine love, concern, empathy and being with other trusting people

Female 59 Australia I am told the priest registration was very badly organised. I believe the days in the Diocese are more valuable. I believe it would have been better for the Pope to go to Melbourne, Sydney Brisbane insted of one big show. Poor countries will not be able to stage WYD on such a big scale. Split it all up into more manageble size.

Male 24 United States hrimps on the barbie" and kangaroo sausages while watching rugby around a bonfire in the Australian bush with my host family and a fellow pilgrim.

125

Male 17 Australia HOW MUCH IT IS GOING TO COST!! The main thing is money

Female 25 Canada Host family was awesome!!! Food was awful ... can't eat the same thing every day and definitely not foods that aren't typically eaten(lamb, salmon, stew) Would have preferred sandwiches,pizza, burgers, hot dogs, packaged foods.

Female 17 Australia Hopefully there are good access to utilities.

Male 18 Philippines hope that the next WYD will be aroung april to may...

Male 45 Canada Homestay while a very positive jesture is both inpractical and not fair to either the the host family or the pilgrim. The problem in Sydney was that homestays were so far from the city, we were in Camden over 1 hour by transit to the city centre where afternoon and evening events took place. Transit did not run late so it limited events that could be attended, missing out on several aspects of WYD, enjoyed in both Cologne and Toronto. As well, leaving earlier by 6am and arriving around 11pm to host families did not provide time to be with them, share and experience our faith and culture as there was only time to sleep and prepare for the next day. For catechese, Bishops should be vetted by the Vatican that they are firmly entreched in the magistrum and the true teaching of the faith, and atleast know how to do solemn mass not a song and dance show. Remind host cities that WYD gatherings are not APEC or G8 meetings and don't need army and police guards and chain fencing. This is a peaceful event. It was most unnerving in Sydney and several of my pilgrims felt uncomfortable with all the security and tight controls. The security people were NOT friendly. It was not like this in Rome, Toronto or Cologne. Leaving the Closing Mass all by one route was not good plan, especially as we went north to get a train which needed to take us far south. Overall crowd control was not handled well, especially at Bangaroo where there was only 2 exits out of the site and was surrouned on 2 sides by water. Food, you have a list of registered piligrims, you know the major events, Opening Mass, Stations etc, then there should be enough food to feed all pilgrims, you should never run out - happened 3 times in the week. Poor planning. The containers were insultated to heated food could have been prepared prior to then making pilgrim wait for the food to be heated, caused major line ups. A few of the food stations understood this but most were poorly trained. It is nice to give sweets but at the Vigil, the food pack had 4 sweets, high on sugar, items and a meal can that was to be microwaved. No food outlets selling anything but hot chocolate/tea (they run out of hot water Sunday morning) and junk food (chips etc). In Toronto and Cologne could get hot meals all thru Vigil and on Sunday.

Male 24 Australia Hi, at Randwick, I don't think there were enough TV screens to properly see the Pope and the Altar... Perhaps have the Altar in the centre next time and people can then get more of a view? Don't do the event in Winter again! Its too cold!! The programs and infromation on Syndey and what to do and when was amazing. Well planned out!

Female 19 Canada Help with fundraising would be great!

Female 24 Australia he hygiene facilities available at Randwick were below standard. I understand from people who have been to previous WYDs that it was great in comparison but as a young female I found them to be unsuitable. Toilets clogged and were unable to be used because of this. Also pods were quite disorganized with no one checking that you were in the right place so it was quite a first in best dressed event. Furthermore for the money paid to be at Randwick food was insufficient that came with the package. Too high in sugar and small portions.

Male 61 United States Having Volunteers like in Sydney everywhere.

126

Female 18 New Zealand Having to stay so far out from the actual events was challenging. We spent so much time travelling we often didn't arrive back at out accomodation until after midnight... one night it was after 1am.. Some things were overly organised...like the shepherding of people for an hour all to the same railway station, seemed pointless

Female 26 New Zealand Having sponsors for food is great but please consider the nutritional value of what you feed us. Chocolate biscuits and highly sugared juices get a bit sickly after a day or two.

Male 39 United States Having our World Youth Day passes and information at our home stay parish was great! It was nice to not have to go to a central location.

Female 27 New Zealand Having been to WYD in Cologne I was reather apprehensive about going to Sydney. In Cologne I found the crowds too big and out of control. For me the Cologne experience was one of survival rather than spiritual growth. In contrast, I found WYD Sydney an amazingly spiritual experience. Many things contribute to that, but one contributing factor was the smooth way in which everything ran. I had no problems with transport, food, or accommodation. Most events were central and very easy to access. There were ample volunteers to help. Thanks you!

Male 19 Canada Having a separate WYD group for the military members is a great idea. We got to grow in faith not only as human beings, but also as professionnals acting on the international peace- keeping scene. The only thing that would be to change a little would be the interaction with civilian prilgrims so we could share our opinions and beliefs and maybe this way change the stereotypical beliefs about Armed Forces and their duty and will to make the world a better place.

Male 41 United States Have the web registration process be easier. Have the WYD organizers work with airlines to provide greater flexibility in flying in and out of the host country. Australia was probably the exception because it's so far away. Hopefully Madrid is easier to get to and the airlines don't lose our luggage.

Female 17 Australia haha bring back K.Rudd. Go Australia!

Male 27 Australia Had a great time, I thought it was very well organised and you all did a great job. Just a couple of things - Encourage people to be more reflective and whilst not a big deal I didn't like being served red meat on Friday.

Female 29 Philippines great! it was almost perfect!

Female 17 Australia great work...food came on time...didnt have to wait for too long...everything was almost perfect.

Male 27 United States Great work! Well organized.

Male 23 India GREAT WORK GUYS!!! KEEP IT UP!! MAY GOD BLESS U AND UR FAMILIES>>!!!!!!! ALL THE BEST FOR MADRID 2011!

Male 28 Australia Great work guys!! Much appreciated!!

Female 20 Canada Great programs offered- good variety of nightly activities. Receive the Power Live was AMAZING!

127

Female 45 Australia Great organisation and wonderful event.

Female 25 Australia Great Job Guys! I was really impressed with the organisation i.e the Catechesis in the suburbs where we were staying and the youth events in the city in the evenings. I was also glad to see the Spiritual aspects had a greater focus than at WYD Cologne. I thought the food quality and quantity was perfect and the main events flowed really well. Security seemed to be a good balance and I loved the WYD packs. A lot of people I know who went also commented that it seemed much better organised this year.

Female 18 Australia Great job for the amount of people! Registration went well, food preparation was amazing - simple food but available to all who were hungry - and packs for ranwick were more than great. Great job and thanks!!!

Female 25 India Great and a humble work i saw . truly it is all the work of God . God bless all who were in the organisation team.

Male 60 United States Good JOB...KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK...See you In Madrid??...I hope so...

Female 20 Malaysia God Bless Us All..AMEN

Female 33 Australia God bless all the organisations on such a FANTASTIC job!!

Female 34 Aruba Give us more information about Spain, so we can be prepared. Actually Australia was the best.

Male 56 United Kingdom Getting from place to place on the programme was impossible in the available time, so we missed a couple of timed appointments and twice there was no food where we went because they were more popular venues

Female 30 Australia Get involved, make the time and also make the sacrifice to attend as many events with the Parish leading up to WYD experience and allow time to grow with the holy spirit.

Male 51 Australia Get Danny Casey and his team (yes, he is a friend) involved in Madrid.

Male 20 United Kingdom Generally amazing organisation on show in Sydney. Musicl Liturgy was varied -Far too patronising in the Catechesis but far too austere at the big masses - there are many hymns that all people around the world know and more of these should have been deployed to add to the sense of international community and unity. Madrid will need to balance water/food needs impecccably because of the heat potential. It was great to meet so much of the church - Bishops etc; long may it continue

Male 36 Canada G'd onya mates! Hala Madrid! Hasta la vista!

Female 23 New Zealand From my point of view it was very well organised, the crowd control worked the majority of the time (except at dinner time)- which is quite an achievement considering how many people they had to control. The helpers were fantastic to talk to, and the public transport arrangements were astounding - we got back to where we were staying from Randwik in less than an hour. I loved the Jewish Dancing.

128

Male 48 Australia From an Aussie perspective,the only thing i felt disappointed with was that locals couldn't get in to a lot of events with overseas speakers as overseas pilgrims had already booked online and venues were already booked out.

Female 30 Australia Formation sessions are extremely important, communication between group members before the experience is very necessary.

Female 45 Canada FOR WYD MADRID 2011- we suggest to open opportunities to young musicians all over the world not just from the host country especially during the FESTIVAL. It is nice to see and hear professional artists but it wouldn't hurt to honor and provide an opportunity for budding musicians from other parts of the world to perform that are really PILGRIMS the kids themselves. Kindly ensure ENGLISH LANGUAGE USED AT ALL TIMES AS NOT ALL PILGRIMS CAN UNDERSTAND SPANISH ESPECIALLY IN MASSES AND ALSO DURING CATECHESIS.

Male 28 Indonesia For WYD 2008, I found it well prepared. The online community, follow up, preparation, survey etc are very very helpful. Not to mention the recordings of sessions available on internet after the WYD. I really hope next WYD will still make use all of these. I do have one hope, that by the next WYD, the Catholicity of the church in its worship is made more available. Eastern Church Expo or Liturgy made more available for all the participant. I know them only trough internet, since their presence is not available among us Catholics in Indonesia. Some of my friends are also very interested to know them, their richness, their up and downs.

Female 37 Australia For the numbers involved I think this was no mean feat, the trials and mishaps were insignificant in the greater scheme of what WYD was all about. When your heart and soul are nourished the body's needs are not so important.

Female 20 United Arab Emirates For the food, sometimes there wasnt enough given for 6 people. Like there were only 2 small loaves of bread with way too much curry/gravy. But at the same time it is understandable. Maybe a mix of fresh veggies could have been given with some kind of sauce or a cold cut meat sandwich which is easier and perhaps econimical. Facilities like the washrooms were excellent for such a public gathering. I hope WYD in Madrid will have as good organisation and much more youth who are as jovial about singing hymns and hopefully the food will be wonderfully traditional as well as I'm thoroughly excited to visit Catholic sites.

Female 33 Australia For such a big event, the registration centre in Sydney was very small-scale! Transport adn Sydney city arrangements were excellent. DID08 mass in Melbourne was excellent - I thought the spiritual experience at the Melbourne mass was excellent - surpassing the Randwick WYD mass. DID08 transport and logistics for pilgrims was a bit chaotic, but worked out ok in the end!

Male 22 France For students it is a shame to make it so expensive. It was really more expensive than in Cologne although there was less people. I think there was too much security in Sydney. Make it cheaper would gather more people.

Female 17 United States For something this crazy, I think everyone did an amazing job. People just have to learn patience.

Female 24 Singapore For seminars that are likely to be in high demand, more places should be opened up so people do not get 'rejected' or deprived of the chance to hear God's word through the presenter.

129

Male 31 Zambia For me i was fortunate in that most of the arrangements were done in a group and we did not have difficulties as we were in home stay arrangement. I was also very happy with the management of the entire event and i guess the team behind it really did a good job. I hope most of the things will be adopted in Madrid 2011 especially in the aspect of crowd controls.

Female 25 Australia For me everything is very good but just 1 thing that made me feel a little bit sorry is i need a group's leader.I think that the leader of a group should care about members inside and outside country. Because i had to go by myself during WYD without knowing any guiding from my group's leader.

Male 55 Australia For goodness sake teach our kids the faith taught by the Church established by Jesus - it is the oldest Christian Church and has therefore been led by the Holy Spirit the longest. WYD engenders a sense of pride (not haughtiness) in being Catholic

Female 39 Canada For DID, host parishes should talk to the group leader much in advance to plan spiritual activities. Host homes need to understand we are on a spiritual pilgrimage and therefore would much prefer spiritual activities with the parish and not going to the movies. They often think they are just there to give us a roof over our head and some meals, but it is much more than that. A list of different types of accommodation and how we can book it would be great well in advance. Key is to have great speakers like Christpher West-he was the best! Only ask dynamic Bishops to speak at Catechetical sessions. Some are gifted more than others. Looking forward to 20011!

Female 27 Ireland for better organised than cologne in 2005. brill experience. wonderful country and hospitality even from non catholics.

Male 40 United States For an event of this magnitude I feel that it was definitely touched by the Holy Spirit!!

Female 39 Australia For a start this survey is far too long!!! You can't expect the average person to spend this long on a survey. Who on earth designed this??? From an administrative point of view, WYD08 was a complete shambles. It made me embarassed to be a Catholic. The accreditation process was a prime example. I waited 9 hours in a queue in the cold to get my accreditation pass. I didn't get it till almost midnight on the Monday of WYD week. The next day I was so exhausted and sick I didn't get to any events I wanted to see. Many of my friends who were volunteers had similar experiences of bad planning on a colossal scale. You can't treat volunteers like this - most of them will be put off and not get involved in similar activies in the future. And another thing - being religious is no excuse for being incompetent. While I'm a great believer in the Holy Spirit, I think s/he is not going to step in and save us from our own stuff ups. While it was nice for some people to keep talking about 'Receiving the power' perhaps a few more people could have been making some sensible decisions on things like crowd control, public transport planning and so on.

Female 22 Australia Food: I know it's half impossible at an event such as this to organise specialty foods, but at least at Catechesis points where it's smaller being able to eat something substantial would be nice. Perhaps there could be a section in the registration that indicates food allergies. (I have coeliacs, plus other allergies, including some meats, and found the food situation, especailly at Catechesis where I had to go out and buy my own food and for the sleepout, very hard even though I was prepared for it. Lived off smoked tuna, oranges, and nuts for the sleepout - talk about penance!)

Female 17 Australia food: breaky was good; dinner and desert was yummy, nice tender meat, although the lines were really long and getting in groups of 6 was annoying when we only had a

130

group of 3 and sometimes 7. i didnt rate lunch besides the first day when we got a big pie, tuna spread and dry maccas rolls and deep spring drink were pretty gross but the chocolate was good and so was the catechises providing yummy slices. the food stalls at events other than at dinner time were convenient and easy to access. and the soup was gross too!

Female 27 Australia Food: Bags used to collect food in should have been reused each night. The environmental impact of those insulated bag is huge.

Female 48 United States Food, accommodations and transportation seemed to run more smoothly than in Germany- but there were many less people to have to deal with. I very much liked the closeness of the major events to a central location that I just happened to be housed in - so was able to basically walk to many events. The Days in the Dioceses were great- absolutely loved the people. Homestays were great to take part in. Free transporation is a must for WYD guests. Having ways to get out of the cold night air would be nice for the vigil and shorter walk would make it easier for people to attend. Fresh fruit and ample water is a must. Have some events after the vigil for a few days to encourage people to stay around to reflect on seeing the Pope and the events of the week- it allows for more small group togetherness and rest before journing back to home. Find ways to keep the cost down or options to volunteer to keep cost down. The police and volunteers at WYD 2008 were great- very helpful and plentiful. Thanks and keep up the good work.

Male 22 Singapore Food was rather unhealthy and repititive. It took quite a while to get from our accomodation to the event venues. This was a problem when events would end at 9, 10pm, and start early the next day. It was difficult to have quiet time at night to reflect, as it was a challenge to even get enough rest. Quite a few of us fell ill as well. Concerened about safety in Madrid, which has a reputation for pickpockets?

Female 17 Australia Food was ok but could have been better sometimes.

Female 21 Canada Food was not particularly well-organized, nor was it particularly delicious. We began to dread the nightly stew-in-a-bag for supper. It made several of the pilgrims in our group get sick. As well, the music at the masses was fairly orchestral. It didn't speak to me and I couldn't sing along because I didn't know the latin and the melodies were complex. I would have enjoyed more of an inclusive Mass - this seemed to be only to impress the Pope. Accomodation and Travel arrangements were wonderful. We stayed at Terra Sancta College (they were so welcoming) and easily took the train every day. Sydney has an excellent train system.

Female 17 Australia food was gross and no variety and limited vegetarian options accomodation at st scholasticas=super duper transport was really good

Female 56 Australia Food was good-- method of dispersal could have been improved----queues weren'y served equally. Some people stayed just on the one line leaving 2 or 3 others with no-one even though young people had been there for ages before thsoe they were serving.

Male 20 United Kingdom Food was excellent, though the loos along the way to Randwick were very dirty, though this is probably more down to us pilgrims.

Female 18 Australia Food was excellent except it was alot of fish, Australians don't like tuna. Be wary of food according to the online registration nationality statistics (and vegetarian options).

Female 34 Croatia/Hrvatska Food was bad! - especially the hot one. Probably because we are not used to that kind of food, but thing with McDonalds helped a lot to a lot of people. Accommodation was very good and the families that took us were great!! Program could be better organized. In

131

Days in Diocese - workshops should be better organized looking at the fact from where pilgrims came. all the merchandise was tooooo expensive. It was such a robber!! Especially when we saw how it was sold so cheep after the meeting and we didn't have the opportunity to buy it than. And especially because we had to pay so much money to come down there.

Female 32 New Zealand Food tents should be where they are plotted in the handbook - clearly one was meant to be in the main park next to the cathedral (near the merchandise tent) but that one didn't exist, and instead the closest one was in the bigger park a bit further away. I heard registration for priests took forever. Vigil and Papal Mass well organised, but got a bit difficult once toilet blocks closed down. Helpful volunteers were not helpful - at Randwick they were too nice, too shy to tell people to get their tents down - why have rules if you're not going to enforce them? Leaving Randwick they misdirected people (helpfully, nicely, and probably they didn't know themselves) away from the buses, causing a long exhausting walk for one of our pilgrim groups who really needed the bus option. The helpful volunteers at Barangaroo at the food tents contributed to frustrating chaos as they accepted 4 or 5 vouchers and wasted time reorganising the sixpacks. It got sorted by the third day, but really some areas need volunteers to shout at pilgrims - queue here, six tickets?, if you line up there you won't be served, (nicely, helpfully, but getting the job done smoothly). The food was incredibly sweet. and repetitive. Loved the reuseable food bags. Hated the amount of food wrapping. Difficult to get enough to eat if you didn't like sweet food.

Female 41 United States FOOD SHOULD BE MORE OPEN FOR THOSE WITH RESTRICTIONS AND CHNACES TO ALLOW FOR THOSE RESTRICTIONS

Female 20 United Kingdom Food often ran out as you could go to any location in Sydney...much better to specify locations so there are no supluses in some places and shortages in others. Accomodation should be allowed to stay with your group and not split up.

Male 18 Australia Food has to be more organized and I did not like the aspect of food vouchers.

Female 25 New Zealand Food during the days leading upto the final Mass was wonderful but the food at the Vigil was not so good! Otherwise it was very well organised!

Female 43 Philippines Food distribution was always a problem. I hope and pray this could somehow improve in the next WYD. I am also awate there were problems in the accomodation of those who registered late. I hope there would be a better accommodation next time.

Female 20 Australia food caused some hassles-needed ropes for queues -lots of people pushing in was not very nice after the spirituality of the opening mass. -

Female 34 Philippines Food are great but system is not organized.

Male 28 Italy FOOD AND ACCOMODATION:NOT SO HIGH LEVEL,NOT VERY NICE SLEEPING AT THE OLYMPIC CENTRE IN SO BIG HALLS WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE,AT THE GROUND WITH LOW TEMPERATURES,ON DIRTY FLOOR AND WITH SO FEW TOILETS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE THERE.THIS ASPECT WAS VERY SAD AND NEW FOR ME AND MY GROUP AND IN MY OPINION WAS THE ONLY BAD ASPECT OF YOUR ORGANIZATION.I WOULD HAVE PREFERED FAMILY ACCOMODATION OR IN SOME HOTELS(LIKE IN 2002 IN USA AND CANADA)BUT I BELIEVE THAT PILGRIMAGE IS GOOD FOR MY CONVERSION SO THAT THESE MINOR DISADVANTAGES DIDN'T SPOIL MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE WYD BUT-AS I'VE JUST WRITTEN ON TOP-WERE GOOD FOR ME.ANYWAY IT WASN'T NICE AT ALL!!! I'D LIKE TO BE INTERVIEWED BY YOU BUT I'M AFRAID NOT TO

132

UNDERSTAND VERY GOOD EVERYTHING BY PHONE SO IF YOU WANT YOU CAN SEND ME SOME QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK TO MY E-MAIL ADDRESS:[email protected]

Female 21 Malaysia Food and accommodation, transport and toilet facilities were very good. All well organised and of good quality. Types of food very suitable for international crowd; maybe stretch it out a little bit next time so not too many programs are running at the same time, then we will be able to attend more of the additional (not main) events! =)

Female 60 United States Food - although who am I to gripe about food when Sydney was feeding 1/2 million people from awesome green bags!! I do thank Sydney for all they did for this event. The meat pies were really good.

Female 17 Australia Firstly the accomodation was great! And I still was able to get a few showers in, so thankyou! and the food was amazing! I loved it all:) It was great because we never went hungry, we always had extra food and to top that off, it was reallly yummy food:) I thought the volunteers were great, one volunteer helped me when I got lost at Barangaroo, thankyou! I think that everything was great, it was organised perfectly

Female 56 United States First, be sure accomadations are ones you would be willing to accept. The merchandise at WYD08 was a great success, as winter comes I see it everywhere. This is a statement to the experience the young people had. The food was fine. The overall theme was incredible! The Spirit swept us all away!

Male 46 Egypt First of all I would like to thank the wyd organisation in Sydney for all the effort they did. Registration process was good and easy. Communication of information was perfect and in time. Accommodation accepted, Food need to be better specialy in the night with the Pope. Thank you very much.

Female 14 Australia Find a way to make the pilgrims more involved with each other rather than just listening to leaders speak. I'd like to find out more about other individual's faith and perhaps learn from them, because I think it's easier for me that way.

Male 52 Australia Financially I would like to thank the Church as it subsidized my 2 girls and me for the trip to Sydney for WYD2008 this made the trip so fruitful as I did not have to return and worry about money I spent that I never had. It showed my girls there is a lot of really switched on normal people that love God just like their dad does. As here it is the best kept secret, I am only one of very few that wears Christian logo t-shirts. Now I have more shirts to wear...Amen

Male 23 Australia Final mass toilets.... ewwwwww

Female 41 Australia Final confirmation of accomodation details was very late! We only found out a couple of days before we headed to Sydney. Otherwise the organisation was fantastic!

Male 56 Australia Feeding so many people at the one venue will always be a huge problem. Good luck.

Female 18 Australia Fantsatic effort to all involved! It was thoroughly planned and organise =]

Female 16 Australia FANTASTIC! it was a huge effort and sure things didn't always go according to plan but who cares? Well done guys!

133

Female 17 Australia Fantastic work done by all orgainisers... and all volunteers. it was so well orgainised and controlled considering the amount of people that were in sydney. So my hat goes off to you!!! THANKYOU if it was for you guys it wouldnt have been such an enjoyable experience!!

Female 50 Australia Fantastic organisational catholic showmanship. No complaints at all. Prayers were answered.It was like Heaven on Earth, The weather was superb. A very annointed blessed event. How fortunate for the people of Spain in 2011, wish I could go.

Female 27 New Zealand Fantastic organisation!!! Much more flow/calm/organisation than Rome 2000. Trying to get food after the opening mass was near impossible but all other times were good. Really helpful and friendly volunteers - made it easy to get around. Awesome weather - thanks God! Wonderful host families - a really positive expereince for all our group. Beautiful liturgy - proud to be Catholic! Love the parts of the mass - thanks for letting us learn them before hand.

Male 39 New Zealand Fantastic organisation - very well done. Had a wonderful experience!

Female 48 United States Fantastic job. With the numbers of people involved and the problems involved in moving this many people around to events the planning was well thought out and very successful. The food for the vigil is always a challenge I am sure. It would be nice in areas were the weather is cooler to be able to get something warm for the vigil meals. This will probably be less of an issue in Madrid it will more than likely be very warm. The bathroom facilities at Randwick were phenomenal. Having been to both Toronto and Colon I have to say that Australia corrected this issue very well. Well done.

Male 31 Australia Fantastic job guys. Your professionalism and friendly help and information is what made WYD such a success. Thanks so much for making it a momement to remember for ever. Good luck for the next one

Male 34 Australia fantastic job - congrats to all

Male 20 Australia Extremely impressed, could not have been handled any better.

Male 26 Australia Exceptionally well organised - well done!

Male 53 Australia Excellent.

Female 23 Australia Excellent, I was most impressed.

Female 17 Australia Excellent! Would have been hard to organise

Male 19 South Africa Excellent! Keep it up

Female 32 Japan EXCELLENT! As a helper at Days in the Diocese, am not sure enough was done to let visitors know that Sydney does experience winter. Overall organisation was SUPER with an amazing array of activities on offer and very professional and comfortable venues. The food was not very healthy - i felt lucky I had enough money to not live 5 days on wagon wheels. But understand the limitations and hope leftover food went to the winter homeless. Small inconveniences due to lack of organisation or delays were covered by goodwill and patience. Loved the free transport! Very friendly policemen helped at every turn. Thank you to all the volunteers!!!

Male 22 Australia Excellent work to everyone! Suggestions: I think it is hard to tailor programs for everyone because of differences in age and in faith. Personally, I benefited more out of

134

reflective events than the concerts. I believe young people often need an element of entertainment to find events attractive; however, I think that reflection about faith, society and life around you has a longer lasting effect than events that combine faith with fun. I think WYD should incorporate more practical advise for the everyday believer, which in my experience is something really hard for young people to get, without going out and looking for it. I hope my opinions help in some way :)

Female 24 United States Excellent organization. Everything was in control. However, we formed a special bond with the Australians of our own Byzantine-Ukrainian Rite and were separated in most WYD events in Sydney. I would have liked if we would stay together as one group---no matter what country we came from. Just as Catholics of the Byzantine Rite.

Male 46 Australia Excellent organisation. Being separated from the children in my care at Bangaroo was unsafe and scary and stressful. This occured due to the way the tickets were distributed for the Opening Mass and enetering as a crowd. Otherwise well done!

Female 17 Australia Excellent organisation, more variety of foods may have been better :) but did not detract from the experience overall.

Male 19 Canada Excellent job organizing transportation in Sydney (buses, subways, etc.)

Female 20 Australia Excellent job in all areas!

Male 34 Australia Excellent job

Female 41 Australia Excellent effort, thoroughly marvelled at what was achieved in Sydney - they should all be very proud.

Male 17 Australia Everything went smoothly, the way things went on throughout the week was well planned out that I got to go to most of the events, I hope things goes as smoothly as it did this year for the next one.

Female 23 Australia everything was well organised.

Female 18 Australia Everything was well organised, the events were fantastic, registration process was simple and easy, food was quite good although would have preferred less curry's. i would love to see more theology based discussions for youth in Madrid because they encompass all the topics that are interesting for youth and what they are often questionable about regarding the Church's teachings

Female 49 Canada Everything was very well organized.

Male 27 New Zealand Everything was very well organised, but I wish daily Mass had been promoted as heavily as XT3 was.

Female 14 Philippines Everything was very organized. I liked it very very much. Thank you! :)

Female 30 Australia Everything was very impressive except for the 'online registration'. The website was not very user friendly and I think that is one of the most important thing because the website is the 'first contact' people will have with the WYD and that makes a very big impression of how well the WYD is being organised. All in all, WYD08 Sydney, well done! The Holy Spirit is with us! :)

135

Female 17 Canada Everything was so well thought out! It was surprising how organized everything was and how things fit into place so well. The program of events, registration process, communication of information, travel arrangements, food and accomadation were all fabulous and easy to use/find. Our group had a simple time manouvering around Sydney and the transportation was incredible. Overall, the facilities etc. were top notch!

Female 46 Australia everything was so smooth and productive could not fault the organisation

Female 19 Canada Everything was pretty well run, aside from getting food. Also, I was very disappointed with how unbalanced the meals were nutritionally.

Female 37 Australia Everything was perfectly organised and done. Pilgrims from overseas were content and very happy with it all. After all we are known by our ability to organise events.

Male 29 United Arab Emirates Everything was perfect save for one major and noticeable issue: the lack of coordination and communication between volunteers. At various points in Sydney, different volunteers would give us different information, often resulting in some people reaching their accomodation late, not being on time for lunch etc. In one very remarkable situation, we were facing 3 volunteers outside Barangaroo, all three giving us different information on whether a route was open. One said yes, the other said no, the third said to go another way. They were standing right next to each other!

Female 20 Philippines Everything was organized and pleasant, except for the food--there should have been a little variety. Our accommodation, which was a school was just perfect. However, from the experience of others, they were packed in their accommodations that they hardly got their food on time or showered well.

Female 19 Australia Everything was organised wonderfully. The only two negative things was that it was hard to find a way around the fences at Randwick.

Female 20 Malaysia everything was great.i have no critics to give.

Female 22 Brunei Darussalam everything was great, awesome! thank you

Female 21 Australia Everything was great at WYD. Thank you very much the experiences you have given me and my youth but the food. It wasn't what i execpt it to be. Lunch was alright but could be better BUT the dinner that was not nice. Most of my youth member's didn't eat their dinner because it was YUK. we would wait till the program was over and would head of to mac donald's.

Female 17 Canada Everything was good, but the only thing that could be improved was the food. I didn't really enjoy the stew, but the meat pie was really tasty.

Female 37 Australia Everything was good but maybe the next organization can put more attention about the toilet facilities as definitely we need more to fit all the pilgrims.

Female 38 Australia everything was good ..hopefully in madrid will be good too especially the toilet

136

Male 31 United States Everything was generally great or fine; but the Vigil sleepover that night was COLD, and the registration line and wait was too long the day before the start of WYD - the facility chosen was simply too small to accommodate everyone.

Male 15 Australia Everything was EXCELLENT. I do not have anything toadd.

Female 18 New Zealand everything was awesome- only problems resulted from our group being new to WYD so not knowing what we needed to be early for and where to find lunch! But the organisation was really good, we had no problems- so thank you!

Female 21 Canada Everything was amazingly organized for the amount of people that went to WYDSYD, but the one thing I noticed was the lack of washrooms...at the Vigil at Randwick, the toilets just stopped working and we weren't allowed to use them which was pretty harsh. So yeah, I think more reliable washrooms would be a good idea!!

Female 20 Ireland Everything was amazingly arranged, huge success! Food and facilities brilliant, best portaloos ever!

Female 26 Canada Everything was absolutely great, the organisers did a super job. Great work, very well organised.

Female 40 Papua New Guinea Everything very well organised except that WYD shirts,hats caps etc be sold a bit cheaper next time.

Male 26 Indonesia Everything happened in Australia during WYD was extraordinary and outstanding. There were one or two let downs, but all the people were fantastic and I really grateful and thank all the hard working comittee, organizers, volunteers, departments, etc. Nothing much I can do to help except telling youths that if they got the chance, they should attend WYD at least once in their lifetime. God bless all of you!

Female 29 Australia Everything flowed very smoothly. Transport was excellent. I always felt very safe. As a leader a hotline was needed. I was a little disappointed that the major masses seemed to be for priests, not young people. Egeria was out of control! Bpay was a disaster.

Female 17 New Zealand everything about wyd was great, only going home from randwick was bad. we waited for ages to get out and it kinda sucked because we were all tired and thirsty and hungry. the preparation we had from Jonny Boon, our wyd regional coordinator, really helped, and boosted up the excitement factor in going to wyd

Female 50 New Zealand Everything about the organisation was wonderful. I would leave everything the same. Yes, the waiting was hard at times but the good humour and good natureness of everyone was really neat. The city of Sydney did a great job in preparation of World Youth Day and preparing its people for us. They were really friendly and it was just such a happy city. I wish the organisers the best for Madrid.

Male 47 Australia Everyone was helpful, computer system for booking confusing - certainly would not be helpful for those who are ify about computers, Mass pricy, late notice on some, activities great - catechises was better than i expected

Female 24 Philippines Everthing was just right and just enough. I already set my mind that going to WYD means going out of my comfort zone. At first, I was disappointed that there was only one bathroom in the school we stayed in and we had to take a bath of approx 2 mins each! It seemed

137

unfair but then, we enjoyed it anyway! What i want to stress was the importance of charging our mobile phones and digital cameras. these gadgets are necessary for us pilgrims. I just hope the school we stayed in Sydney understood that. I hope in Madrid, there wont be rules like No Phone Charging or something to that effect. I would like to commend the toilets they provided in Baragaroo and in Radwick :) Organized, safe and it was enough for all the pilgrims!

Female 58 Canada Everthing was great in the Name of God and would only be further improved with Prayers to achieve the Needs of the Youth formation as the Love of God at His Will. As MARY, MOTHER OF GOD has said: Do whatever he tells you. Pray, Pray, Pray with ST JOSEPH at your Heart. Thank you.

Male 41 United States Events were sometime hard to get to and if you had register early for seat and showed up a late due to transportation problems you could not get in the event.

Female 60 United States Even though this is World Youth Day and it is geared for the young, the young at heart or little children as Mary calls us can be any age. All was wonderful and still could we not deepen the intensity of the spiritual experience for all those ready for more. Raise the bar with some apologetics or bible study. Thanks!

Female 31 Australia Even though organisation was a bit... Ok, that also helped us in the 'pligrimage'. Growth is caused by contradictions so WELL DONE!!!!

Male 55 Australia Even being present in Sydney amongst all hte organization My miknd could not get to the end of all the work that would have been involved in the planning an its execution. Basics like food and transport were unspectacular but NECESSARY.

Female 27 Australia Ensuring that the facilities can cater for the large crowds in relation to sanitation is very very important.

Female 36 Australia enedetto" were heard far and wide. After mass

Female 52 Australia emjoyed all of the dancing and have started forming a dance troupe also liked the music and have made drums for madrid

Female 44 Australia Each time it really mattered I was let down. The WYD-GLE contact should have had at least double the staff and 24 hour availablity from a minimum of two weeks out. The registration process for non international pilgrims was atrotious. The registration for priests was likewise dreadful. Trying to get answers about where and how to get registration bags, passes etc came far too late. The registration for acolytes etc was onerous, and lacking in detail and in followup. Pilgrims not having detailed maps with where M4 and J3 were was a disaster. Volunteers even with maps usually could not show/tell us how to get from A to B. We had passes for VIP seating for the Vigil and not one of the 20 + volunteers I asked could help me find where and how we were supposed to get there, and when we did get there, no one gave us candles. It would have made a big difference at Randwick if there had been pathways marked inside the areas, eg with a coloured plastic cloth, so that you could walk to the toilet without stepping on people's belongings or body parts. The DID at Mingara was a disaster, it had almost zero spiritual content, and plenty of aboriginal, water conservation, environment, climate change, drumming options, and no daily Mass, nowhere to say a rosary together etc. The Vocations Expo should have been open prior to the catecheses and during lunchtimes, and even during catecheses so that interested non-pilgrims could have access. One of our priests had his registration stuffed up, so he missed out on being able to hear confessions and assist at the Masses. Everytime we needed to find out information, it was so difficult to get, and normally impossible. We were not alone in this experience. WYD was

138

absolutely wonderful until (and unless) you needed to contact administration for something and then you saw the extent of the mismanagement and disorganisation and poor communication. Priests in parishes gave up on WYD because they could not get the information that they needed to have. Not all parishes had DVD players. Not all DVD content worked well on large screens at sizeable distance from parishioners (eg print too small). What is tested on a small screen often does not work well on a large screen in a big church. Warnings should be given to group leaders about how long it is likely to take to move small distances on foot during WYD, and how frustrating when you must always be forced to go the very long way rather than your usual straightforward and short way. These delays meant that w spent all of our time travelling to the big events and never got to the small ones.

Female 30 United States Don't make the registration system so detailed in the future. Include transit 2-4 days before and after. Clarify WYD medical coverage and what to do. Keep the venues as central as possible. Water stands on the pilgrim routes are essential. Assign Simple accommodations and catechesis as groups complete registration, so those who are registered early can be more central and can know where they will be in advance. Overall, Great Job Australia!

Female 17 Australia dont go with a school group. go with friends.

Male 25 Sweden Don't change accomodation during days in diocese. The group leader has activities and no internet connection perhaps.

Female 19 Australia Diversify the dinners so that all people are able to eat them

Female 28 Australia Disorganised orientation of volunteers'jobs- created nervous atmosphere for volunteer to begin their position and disorganise information for volunteer to perform their service, such as lack of venue information provided before their shift. Early event volunteer recruitment program and flexible plan of minimal event volunteer required to operate. Early registered event volunteers can received notice early, to assure them the requirement of their service and the information relate to their allocated position. When the event volunteer recruitment program extends til last minute, there are enough people to run the show.

Female 45 Australia Did not appreciate how catholic school employees were given the opportunity to attend different events whilst many other people who volunteer in parishes were not

Female 44 Australia delay in getting entry passes,uncertainty about whether i would be hosting pilgrims or not at short notice, not knowing anything about the pilgrims until after they arrived.

Male 61 United States Definitely need a better online registration process!

Female 25 Australia Definately have Stations of the Cross and Catechesis sessions in the morning and relate the talks to modern society.

Female 25 Taiwan Deberian dar mayor facilidad a los paises tercer mundistas, pues hay muchos jovenes con ganas de compartir el WYD pero lamentablemente no se encuentran economicamente estables.

Female 36 Pakistan DEAR WYD TEAM,IT'S AN HONOR THAT GET A CAHNACE TO TALKING TO YOU,I JUST WANT TO INFORMR YOU THAT LIKE OUR COUNRY THERE IS NO POSIBILITIES TO ATTAEND OUR HOLY EVETS LIKE WDY,2008 CAUSE OF VISIT VISAS FROM(LOCAL EMBASSCIES)FOR THESE HOLY EVETS EITHER MOST OF THE PEOPLE FULLFILL THE DOCUMENTRY REUIREMENTS.KINDLY IF THE CONCERN

139

REGISTRATION TEAM OR DEPTT COULD ISSUE THE VISAS DIRECTLY THEN THE MAIN PROBLEM (VISIT VISA)CAN BE SOLVED & EVERY CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN OR CHRISTIAN CAN ATTEND THSE HOLIFULL EVENTS & COULD SHARE THEIR FAITH AROUND THE GLOBE. YOUR SYMPATHETIC CONSIDERATION IN THIS REGARDS WOULD BE HIGHLY APPRICIATED. WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD I FEEL THE PROUD TO BE A CATHLOIC CHRISTIAN. GOD BLESS YOU ALL SO THAT YOU CAN SERVE YOUR PEOPLE BETTER.WE THE LIGHT OF A LORD JESUS CHRIST. GREETINS IN CHRIST. THANKS & REGARDS

Male 21 United States Days in the Diocese was a VERY good experience. Made the World Youth Days much more complete, worth doing. Good to experience local culture/ and spirituality.

Female 30 Mexico Could you please pick a different menu for Madrid 2011. Sorry, but I think food provided was terrible. If there was a purpose to keep having the same menu, you should have told us. However, this was better to come as a personal decision. Maybe next time you can suggest to do so as a penance. But I think is better to change the menu or find more common things to eat because there was a lot of food waste. For me there was not sence of being preeching social justice or the care of environment if our actions are doing the opposite. The waste of food was not used for the ones that don't have food, and we just generated more waste to our environment.

Female 51 Australia Could the Catechist talks be recorded for those who cannot attend!!!What about the sick in hospital or those home-bound....apart from watching it all on TV, could they be involved from where ever if they wanted to, or could they participate?

Female 27 Malaysia Could have done a better job at food management. The signs and time for collection were not clear. Food given not so appropriate.

Female 60 New Zealand Copy the splendid public transport organisation we experienced in Sydney. Do a better job of having food available throughout. Connect us with local people...and keep the music and concerts going...they were a highlight for me.

Male 23 Australia considering the large number of people things ran very smoothly there were a few minor set backs but that should be expected with a gathering of this scale it was well organised well planned and finely conducted

Female 27 Australia Congratulations! The WYD SYD 2008 was extremely well organised. For me, everything seemed to go very smoothly and the events that were planned were a good mixture of traditional and youthful. I particularly enjoyed the catechesis, in which we had live music and many people were standing up clapping, dancing and doing actions. It really helped me to open up about my faith, and not to be embarrased or ashamed. We need more of this energy - youthful energy in our churches. All the best for WYD Madrid 2011.

Male 28 Canada Congratulations to the organizing team in Sydney, you did a fabulous job. I am very familiar with Spain, having lived there for 2 years as a seminarian. I am also a professional Spanish translator, and helped the WYD Sydney in that aspect leading up to the event. So if you would like my services, please contact me at [email protected]

Female 60 Australia Congratulations to the organisational team. I though it was tremendous and everything went better than according to plan - except for the dust at Randwick

Female 51 New Zealand Congratulations to all the organisers and all the volunteers you did an amazing job.

140

Female 41 Australia Congratulations on a wonderful event. The food and transport were extremely well organised. The events offered were great but having the tickets 'booked out' online before WYD and then discovering half empty theatres was disappointing - both for pilgrams and presenters I presume. It would have also been good to have more information about the various events prior to WYD.

Female 33 Philippines congratulations for a well job done

Female 34 Philippines Congratulations for a very great job!

Female 39 Philippines Congratulations and thank you very much for the whole team who organized the WYD 2008 in Sydney!

Female 55 Australia Congratulations - from my experience it was very well organised.

Female 19 Austria congrats on the great program! everything was great! “,"

Female 54 Australia Congras! May God bless you all.

Male 48 Australia Computer system was a mess, slow to log onto, confusing, administration was hopeless, had a lot of trouble. Slow and clunky

Female 49 Australia communicaton of information was good - although occasionally a bit slow. In the end there was lots of it available. The web site was horrendous. We made our own travel arrangements, the school classroom accommodation was fine.

Female 46 United States Communications were not adaquate. Arrangements for housing were made way too late. We registered many months in advance but had no housing until right before the trip. The lunch food was unacceptable. Sodexho in france was the best.

Female 61 United States Communications from Australia to the USA about questions, registration Visas was terrible but everyting else was wonderful.

Female 24 Australia Communication: Ensure that ALL members involved in WYD are communicated with regularly and that they receive the SAME information. My suggestion is a weekly email / bulletin that has ORGANISATIONAL details (not just stories about how so and so went to Cologne and is now studying to become a priest - inspirational as it is, as a group leader I needed details. The closing date for registration changed so often and being communicated to everyone BUT the group leaders and that is very poor). This should be sent to: priests, group leaders, deanery leaders (youth and clergy), homestay hosts - this is to ensure that EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME PAGE - which wasn't the case for 2008 WYD. Program of events was great - more notice would be desirable but the timetable was released soon enough and we had enough time to organise our groups so this is not, in my opinion, a priority. Registration process: we paid online and had our money taken from us. Money was deducted from credit cards but not listed on our balance sheet as being paid. We were going to be double charged for registration. This should be rectified. Evaluations: asking me now what i felt before WYD is not the most valid form of surveying people. Perhaps have spread out questions (just a few, don't overload pilgrims) that people can answer as soon as they register, a couple of months before WYD, immediately after WYD and six months after WYD. Also - 'repent and reflect' as an email subject line to remind people to complete surveys is rather rude. Perhaps something more diplomatic next time.

141

Female 25 Australia communication between wyd team of details and corresponding groups were issued too late (ie. accomodation details, schedule, activities) for proper arrangements to be made by individual groups which meant that groups had to be ready for impromptu changes all the time accomodation for pre-wyd (13th of July) was badly organised.. we paid for the night online but were given no details as to when and where we were to go. and we unable to contact anyone that could help... thus having to forfeit the money and arrange alternative accomodation meals where surprisingly organised!!

Female 29 Ireland Coffee making facilities at Randwick were APPALLING! otherwise i was able to put up with inconveniences, but i did think that many aspects were not as well organised as in Rome.

Female 32 Australia Check that the registration system works effectively!

Female 20 Australia Catechesis was great - needs to either commence earlier or have events start a little later - when your accomodation is outside of the city and you have to travel to Catechesis and then to the city for events, it means you miss out on part of the events. Catechesis was also enjoyed by all. There needs to be more TV screens at events. For those who are allocated to the back areas, it can be very hard to see what is going on and audio could also be a bit louder when people are speaking during events. Pilgrims should be given the opportunity to roam a bit more - it was difficult to get up the front in some events when you could/should have been allowed to.

Female 45 Australia Catechesis timing prevented participation in other activities that were on offer as it was still going when things were beginning in the city but we were an hour away by train. Catering was fantastic. Transport infrastructure and passes great. Events finishing late caused complications for getting back to accommodation before lock out and made early starts difficult... travel time needs to be factored in to events timing.

Female 18 New Zealand Can't think of any improvements? Transport in particular was good. This has nothing to do with organization by Australia - but the media in NZ was not positive about WYD

Female 18 Australia Can you try and encourage the rural parishes to be more involved in accomodating pilgrims please? We're just as eager. There was often space in cars etc when travelling to the city to catch the flight to Sydney so travel's not a major issue. Loved the small group theme. Having a more organised 'to-do' setup for the youth festival days would be good though. A lot of us under-18s missed out on attending many talks- we could have if our leaders had enforced stricter time lines on us! No offence intended at all, they did a spectacular job! God bless you all!

Male 26 Canada Busing from Melbourne to Sydney along with the delivery of the luggage was a mess, but other than that an excellent job.

Female 29 New Zealand Brochures and phamphlets of timetables and events during the WYD week should be given out to us for reading&planning so we can be fully prepared before arriving at the WYD host country.

Female 29 Australia Brilliantly organised. Thoroughly enjoyable and alot more organised than Rome and Germany.

142

Female 47 New Zealand Brilliant organizing, the team in Australia did the whole Catholic faith proud with the excellent attention to detail in organizing everything. THANK YOU to all concerned.

Female 57 Australia Bouquets to the organizers. What a mammoth task, well done

Male 48 United States Blessed Mary MacKillop was one of the patrons of WYD. A topic covering obscur topics of the church like Miracles and the Veneration, Beatification and Canonization process might be very interesting. Youth understanding the the Church does not make Saints the CHruch recognizes holy persons and elevates them to sainthood and these persons are there as mentors for us all! The Creed we pray tells us of the 'Communion of Saints'

Female 23 South Africa Better showering facilities! And more home-stay opportunities.

Female 25 United States Better process for volunteers- earlier notification of when accepted, follow through on refunds of registration fees, and better communication the month and immediately before WYD for international volunteers. Felt I was going into it blindly until I got my 1st day training, and heard varying communication from the organization to other international volunteers.

Female 18 Australia Better food...mayeb blander food that most people would like. i understand that organising food is very difficult, but it would be nice if it tasted a little better!

Female 17 Australia better food. turn off the lights at some point. through out the old people that tell the young people to be quiet so that they can get some sleep. hand out ear-plugs for the oldies.

Male 17 Australia better food(it was alright but the potato one wasn't ideal)

Male 21 Malaysia Better food please... As forr WYD11 please make sure that there is a better system in moving mass number of youths through big events in a more orderly and comfortable (for the youths) manner as it would help everyone get the best of everything. thanks

Female 18 United States Better food- especially for the vegeterians!

Male 15 Australia Better facilities/toilets, more staff doing bag checks/security checks, they took too long.

Female 47 New Zealand Better deal on airfares. Far too expensive Making sure that everything that is required for the journey is organised in plenty of time not at the last minute

Male 17 Australia best thing going around

Female 52 Australia being Spanishm,as well as Australian I would like to recommend foresight in the organisation and I hope that they follow the example set by Sydney in organisation. I would like that topics such as living with and bribnging to God, those that opose the faith -said in nicer way - is dealt with, as society there is divided and the laws are anticatholic on purpose.

Male 27 East Timor before we going to WYD 2008, Everythings is already have beautiful organise,special from Fr John Herd from SA, he is arrange everything start from air ticket,Visa,clothes uniform,and sponsor from some parish in SA. PDL TOLL is one of company in East Timor is support flight DILI-DARWIN and return plus AUD 50.00 to each piligrim all is about 350 people

143

Female 52 New Zealand Before I went to WYD I thought I had to do everything. When I gat there I discovered that to do everything was physically impossible and exhausting.

Female 39 United States Because of our current abuse crisis and to protect young Catholics under 18, I would recommend the age range be 18 to 35 unless you are traveling with a parent. I met 13 year olds in Sydney without any proper adult (over 25) supervision. This is dangerous. This is not a typical vacation tour or mission trip - WYD is tiring, intellectually draining, long days and too much for young Catholics under 18. I know some Catholics under 18 have a spiritual maturity but the legal and financial risks to the Church are too great.

Male 49 United States Because I organize large groups, housing is a challenge. We always choose church/school type housing so as to deliberately embrace sacrifice as integral to the pilgrimage. On the last three WYD's, the housing assignments are not coming out until the very last minute...a week or two from the trip. Imagine my situation...540 families wondering where their child will be staying in Sydney, and I have no answer. And at the last minute, it is a challenge to communicate this to families...to arrange ground transportation in Sydney from the United States...I have to secure buses, and I do not know where they will be taking me...they are very reluctant to hold buses for me because they don't know how far they must go or how long it will take them. It seems like WYD has begun to give all of the preferential treatment to the tour organizers. They get the best assignments, the first notifications, but sadly, they are not motivated to move the hearts and minds of the youth, they are motivated to make money. I have seen a lot in seven world youth days. I took 284 to Denver. 105 to Manila. 362 to Paris. 470 to Rome. 105 to Toronto. 584 to Germany. 540 to Sydney. I would love to participate in any planning and offer any candid suggestions if it would be beneficial.

Female 30 Malta beautifully organised - all deserve a big well done

Female 24 Australia Basic Spanish lessons would be helpful before Madrid 2011

Female 15 Australia AWESOME! Keep up the great work!

Female 16 New Zealand Awesome! Everything was organised great and volunteers/police were extremely helpful!..

Female 19 New Zealand Awesome work, food was perfect for the crowds and events ran smoothly, a huge thankyou to the organising team your work is much appresiated :)

Female 27 Philippines Australian people especially people in Sydney really made the experience worthwhile. They were very organized, kind and accommodating. I appreciate and commend all the efforts done by the organizing committee to arrange our kit, accommodation and other facilities and to make the whole experience as meaningful and as worry-free as possible.

Male 31 Philippines aussies, congratulations for an excellent job! wydsyd2008 was very organized. thank you so much. “,"

Male 29 Namibia Atleast people who did not get families (especially groups) must be accomodated in catholic school and parishes. Also, there must be people around plces were the groups are accomodated to give direction and guidance. Some times we do not where to go and what to do.

144

Male 16 Australia At WYD in Sydney, i had the best time in my life, both in the faith and in the social side. I really liked the concerts where everyone comes together and sing to God. The big masses where the Pope was there.

Female 25 Australia At Randwick. Our group arrived really early on the Saturday morning at 8am to ensure that we could get the best place possible to see the stage in our designated area. We spent the whole day in our designated area waiting. We noticed that some groups that arrived much later in the day, were let into areas closer to the stage that they were not designated because there was no room in their designated section. Which wasnt fair to groups like us. Also in the morning before the Final Mass, older persons who did not sleep the night came in and set up chairs in the Walkways right in front of us so we could not see at all. The volunteers should have stopped them from setting up the chairs in the walkways, not only was it blocking our view, it could have presented a serious safety problem in the need to evacuate. Apart from those two issues, I thought WYD 08 was very well run and organised. Well done!

Female 16 Australia At Madrid, if possoble it would be good not to get the same food (stew) every night but I understand that this is a massibve catering job so people may have to live with it.

Male 21 Australia As these surveys by ACU were done in the leadup to and followup of WYD, I will make some comments: LEADUP: A question on where you find God in your life was asked, one of the scenarios suggested was ‘while making love’. There was not an option saying ‘Not Applicable’. For all those Orthodox Catholics who are not married, the answer ideally is ‘No’, for the simple reason that they aren’t ‘making love’. The results, however, will show a percentage of respondents saying ‘not at all’ in this situation, as if sexual intercourse with your husband or wife is not a God given thing. Similarly, if someone believes they would find God in this act, they can’t say they would find God whilst ‘making love’ because that would be lying on the survey. In this survey: bus and travel questions not applicable to everyone and some of the questions (eg the one pertaining to the Mass with the Aboriginal Message Stick) encompassed details which the respondent didn’t like and so had to answer ‘no’ to the other details they did like. The presentation of some questions appear to have separate agendas: for example, ‘I feel more able to question aspects of my faith’ translates to ‘I feel better about doubting my faith’ and ‘WYD helped me to realise this kind of religion is not for me’ as if leaving the Church is a positive thing. Meanwhile, some of the options for answers, I feel, were terribly indicatory of a separate agenda: ‘WYD was TOO conservative’; apart from believing that WYD was more liberal than conservative, I am offended that the survey questions suggest that WYD was anything but Orthodox. Similarly, WYD did not play ‘classical music’ and if by ‘formal style’ you mean correct form of the sacraments, then I should imagine every Orthodox Catholic would have enjoyed it. I would suggest that the Pope’s arrival is not a spiritual activity – exciting but not spiritual. The ‘church law’ question regarding Priest’s celibacy and gender was worded (with the quoted words) in a way that has negative connotations. Church should have been spelt with a capital ‘C’ and ‘law’ is not law per se but Tradition (with a capital ‘T’), rather than ‘law’ which has punishment associated with it. The question on Capital Punishment said the Church opposed it. Perhaps if the surveyors had read ‘2266 and 2267’ of the Catechism then they would have worded the question correctly ie. the ‘Church’s teaching on Capital Punishment’ or ‘opposing Capital Punishment when other appropriate means are available’. Finally, the question asking the respondent if they believed that the Church has a greater share of truth’ than other religions is problematic because it gives the notion that there is a Truth that the Church has a share in but does not have other parts of the Truth. The Church, I would contend, has the Truth necessary for Salvation; it does not need to mingle other faiths, as St Mary’s in South Brisbane has unsuccessfully, heretically done, to try and get the greatest Truth available. Thankyou, Any comments or queries please feel free to email me: [email protected]

145

Female 48 Australia AS the overall group leader also looking after other group leaders I came to realise that the leaders preparation was very important. Unfortunately for our group not all the small group leaders were able to participate in training and this had an adverse affect on the group as a whole. If I was doing this again I would ensure that only group leaders who had completed the required training or had other appropriate qualifications would continue onto WYD. We travelled by train to Sydney and back this was excellent. The school we stayed at was excellent. they offered us extra food and services. Travel around Syndey was sometimes complicated but the staff and volunteers and maps provided were generally very helpful and smoothed the process.

Male 27 Singapore As much as I enjoyed the world youth day in Sydney, it will be great if there are 'more serious' sessions compared to the concerts. Concerts are great, but it will be greater if there are sessions to inform us, the youth about the significance of eucharistic celebration, why catholic do this and that. One of the highlight of WYD08 for me was the Theology of the Body talk events. It was an eye-opening events for me, where I felt like I knew better about God, I fell in love again with him, etc. I hope there will be more 'serious' event in Madrid. Anyway, WYD is great, and it feels good to be a catholic. don't you agree?

Female 60 United States As I was not involved inthe actual registration process, I do know fromthe aspect of my Archdiocese that they were very frustrated withthe registration of the priests that they made it very difficult for them, luckily we had a person on staff whose job it was to chase down any problems and try to correct them so the regular pilgrims had a great time.

Female 52 Australia As I only went to Sydney for the Vigil and the closing Mass and we stayed in hotel accommodating I couldn't really comment on arrangements. The atmosphere in Sydney was amazing and something I will never forget.

Male 28 Australia As an electronic engineer, I appreciate online forms etc working properly, and if not decent documentation detailing any issues; I feel that some parts of the registration process weren't documented well enough, and I had to resort to calling for assistance. If there was better documentation on the process, this would have saved time. Also, I think more detailed documentation on the whole event, structure, etc would have been good. As this was my first WYD event, I didn't know all the ins and outs, so at times it felt like the blind leading the blind. However, in the end, everything worked out well, and the actual organisation in Sydney was fine! One small point... in the large crowd events, it was difficult to see the barricades and barriers, and paths in/out of and around venues weren't obvious. Perhaps taller barricades/fences and/or sign posts would have helped :-)

Male 39 Australia as above, crowd control after the event was excessive.

Male 33 Australia As a pilgrim, I can tolerate anything including bad accommondation. The only I felt a little hard to cope was the food at Randwick. I struggled to eat them. The other thing was the heavy programs, which caused a lot of us to get sick due to limited sleep and rest. Instead of listening and focusing, a lot of us felt asleep instead.

Female 43 New Zealand Arrangements and registration went smoothly for us. We were billeted to a lovely family. Found the train information staff and the train system to be fantastic, friendly and very helpful staff and a very convenient and fast train network. (We were based about an hours train ride into the city at Rooty Hill.

Female 57 Australia Appropriate and affordable accommodation for people with a disability needs to be a priority in ALL Church events. Thank you

146

Female 29 Australia Apply flu and cold control or awareness (preventative measures if possible)in accommodation places to stop it spreading too much.

Male 59 Australia Apart from the registration process and travel to and from I thought thaSydney being somewhat complicated WYD itself went very well. Transport arrangements in Sydney were excellent and we were well feed without having to wait to long in queques. Our accommodation was good and we were well looked after by the volunteers.I thought that Catecheses was excellent not just for the youth but also for older people like me. The animators were excellent and everybody was very attentive.

Female 19 Canada An amazing experience and nothing could have been more organized than this event, people are still talking about how well it went!

Female 24 New Zealand AMAZING ORGANISATION GUYS!!! TOP MARKS. Really. wow.

Female 19 Canada Amazing Job! Everything was easy to get to, it was good that transportation was just free for everyone, no fumbling with tickets. Our hotel was especially good, we were pretty close to everything.

Male 22 United States Alright this is the only beef I have. At both Toronto and Cologne, we were pushed out from our 'reserved' location. I would appreciate it if the volunteers would actually enforce the rule that you have to occupy the area you are given on your pass. We never get our spot, slightly annoying. Well God is good anyhow and things work out so I'm not complaining, but seriously come on now, people need to respect the rules. Cutting corners causes problems. Other than that, let's not have such a rave like we did in Australia following the vigil. Things got a little bit out of control and I believe the music kind of influenced that and partially took away the religious experience a bit. We don't want people to start getting carnal at the event.

Male 48 Australia Allow the pilgrims to speak, to contribute: hold forums where young people are not just spectators or audience. This needs to be broader than inviting groups to prepare beforehand and present.

Male 21 Australia All were fantastic - exceptional organisation, with major thanks to both volunteers and police force who were very positive and helpful beyond what I have seen at any other time. I consider substandard accommodation good because it brought our group closer together. Thankyou.

Female 18 Australia All was well - thank you all for an amazing World Youth Day experience!

Female 44 Australia All very well organised - especially HOT food and clean, few line-ups at toilets. Collecting pilgrim knapsacks was difficult. The map on the brochure was not always clear. Madrid - would love a CHEAP tour package so my students could see other holy spots eg Lourdes, Rome etc...Skip the camping out at Vigil!!!

Female 27 United States All things considered, I thought that WYD went INCREDIBLY smoothly. Great job to the organizers and much thanks to Sydney for accommodating us!

Female 27 Zambia ALL THE LISTED WAS OK

Male 34 Pakistan all the events were organized very nicely. I would like to give a suggestion for one of the WYD's event for Asians called Asian Youth Gathering, it is indeed a very good opportunity for the young people of Asia to be togather and express themselves more freely but

147

during last gathering there was no sitting arrangment and food was also not available for the participants which were in thousands. I request the organizers to help next time to make it feel good to Asian Youth.

Female 25 Samoa ALL THE EVENTS WERE FANTASTIC, TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS AND TRAVELLING FROM PLACE TO PLACE AND TAKING LUGGAGES WAS KIND OF HARD, BUT I THINK IT WAS A GOOD CHALLENGE FOR EVERY BODY. WE ALL WENT THROUGH THE HARD WAY JUST TO BE WITH GOD WITH EVERYONE ELSE.LIKE JESUS TOOK THE HARD WAY, HE WAS CRUCIFIED.

Female 28 Australia All the arrangements went smooth and orderly and people were patient and waited their turns in queues and the atmosphere was jolly and jovial. Nobody was complaining. Everybody was happy for one reason or the other.

Male 45 United States All the accodomations seemed to be great, organized and very convenient. Those made for a very enjoyable experience. The public transportation system and people were very pleasant and nice to get travel information from.

Male 55 United States All seem very well organized as the days were busy from dawn until late in the evening. Somehow we lost communications with our host families for the week in Sydney. Our host families within the Days in the Diocese in New Castle were fabulous. We were scheduled for homes in Sydney but the communication fell apart and we were never contacted. Staying within the college was OK but colder than expected within the buildings and a limited number of showers made it uncomfortable. It did not, however, take away from the magnificance of the stay.

Male 25 Australia All in all, there was nothing left to give a feedback regarding the services in World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. I have no complaints over the entire services and events provided by the organisation as everything was setup very smoothly and accordingly.

Male 20 United States All I'd say is to get really balanced meals-not to knock on the food in Australia, it was great- like good lean meat, fruits and veggies. That'll help us to keep going!

Male 20 Pakistan All I can say this please give us I mean reply of our mail or enquiry quickly not make late. Because one of the big factor for me of not obtaining WYD visa just late reply from the WYD team. This is the main according to me. so please its my request to the Madrid WYD team please give us reply quickly and nothing else. THANKS ALOT!

Male 36 Indonesia All good

Female 18 United States After hearing horror stories about bathrooms, long lines and the food, I was surprised how orderly the volunteers of WYD ran all of the different events.

Male 60 Australia Advertsing of other events at WYD was not given to us. it seems we missed alot that was going on.

Female 21 New Zealand Accomodation was shocking, we didn't know where we were staying until 2days before leaving (if that). Although, we did stay at an awesome school!

Male 31 Australia Accomodation EXTREMELY poor, IF someone was to go next time I'd advise them that for LESS money they can stay at a backpackers. Closer to city (ALOT) with HEATING, running water, and EVEN matresses!! Get like minded people (ie. who go to church but realise food amd rest is IMPORTANT). If they let the wrong person into the group ( It's a PILGRAMAGE

148

you MUST SUFFER) then get them to stand next to a church, get them to turn around, get a rock and hit them in the back of the head. Walk away and watch as the church calls in security and police to allow the idiot, to FULLY enjoy the experience of pilgramage.

Female 16 Australia Accommodation was to far from the place where events were going on. It took us at least 2 whole hours to reach the school, and that is if the crowd is moving.

Male 16 Malaysia Accommodation was good. I got homestay in marrickville and it was awesome

Female 18 New Zealand accommodation facilities were great. hospitality at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Miranda was excellent! Stations of the cross worked well because all the pilgrims were spread accross SYdney which made for easier travel as not everyone was at the same train station trying to get back to our accommodation. Food was good; although we were regularly given packs where some of the food was still frozen!!

Female 49 Australia Access is vital so that all people can attend. THere is a need for more sign interpreters, better on site access, people with disabiltiy should not be grouped together but allowed to attend with their group.PLEase continue to provide access in all areas - WYD was good but please keep improvng access so that everyone can attend.

Male 22 Australia Absolutely was no doubt about the World youth Day. I was really overwhelmed by the events, includes registion process, food sleeping and so on. so i think SDY WYD will be the most event things for they Young people and the world because there no fear of so call terrorist.

Male 30 Australia Absolutely no gatherings should be organised before or after the Opening Mass. Both (Qld and MAD) events were poorly disrupted by the Opening Mass. I thought we would have learned from Cologne when only a handful of Aussie's made it to the mass. Let's get this right in Madrid. Surely the Monday afternoon before WYD would be a better time to have such events. Egeria had a wonderful setup - just kept falling over with the load of traffic. This needs to be improved for Madrid. The only time I could get on was after midnight. The helpline (1300 WYDSYD) had wonderful operators - problem was getting through. Some issues took me 3 weeks to resolve due to the availability of operators. Travel, Food, Catechesis & Accommodation was exemplary and out of the way support for international pilgrims was exceptional. Support for Catechesis providers was exceptional.

Female 16 New Zealand Absolutely fantastic in Sydney :) No suggestions.

Male 25 Australia About the food there is no more comlained about it, exccept people are allways drink the same drink everyday, especially the orange drink, some people the don't like it really. Overall every are going well, make next world youth day more advance

Female 25 Australia About only two weeks to go till the WYD week, and our group did not know where we were going to stay (we had picked simple accomodation initially). This was very stressful, particularly for the group leaders as we had young pilgrims in our group and were concerned for safety. We had registered months in advance, and were kept being told by the organisers to wait another month, then another month etc. to be allocated accomodation. In the end, we had to book our own budget accomodation. Feeding stations ran out of food packs, even at the largest venues after key events (Barangaroo). They also closed too early. Sometimes we were delayed coming out of our packed schedule of events and missed out. Fortunately this was in Sydney and buying food was not a problem, though incurred extra expense.

149

Female 23 Indonesia about meal.. can you give fresh meal to the pilgrim?

Female 25 Indonesia A proper accomodation for international pligrms. Proper distribution of foods.

Male 61 United States A more user friendly computer registration process would be appreciated!!

Male 22 Canada A local WYD liaison in each diocese would be nice.

Male 17 United Kingdom A little too much over-commercialisation of the event with too much selling of WYD merchandise. Not enough outlets for food to be collected in some places.

Male 34 Australia A Life in the Spirit Seminar should be done either before or after any WYD to either prepare or reinforce the experience they have and also to build a community of youth evangelizing other youths through this Life in the Spirit Seminar or something similar. Youth for Christ organisation may be able to help on this or other Charismatic movements.

Female 17 Australia a fantastically organised event. so proud to be australian. many people have worked so hard for many years and it has paid off. it was a great success. at all times i felt safe and happy with the surroundings. the toilets overflowing at randwick was slightly annoying, but that is a minor thing compared to how well everything else went. the st george deanery did a great job in organising the hundreds of pilgrims they had.

Male 18 United Kingdom A fantastic organisational effort, and very successful.

Female 51 United States A couple of the venues were difficult to find transportation to and so I was unable to attend some sessions I wanted to go to. Also, it was seemingly convenient to have our gear delivered to our location in Brisbane, but, alas, our gear did not show up there until 4 days late after much calling and a few very cold nights with no sleeping bag. On the other hand it gave a few the opportunity to be generous and share blankets etc. and we survived all the stronger for it.

Female 60 Australia A couple of comments I would like to make are:I would've liked a copy of events earlier than the day of arrival,because we were so busy as leaders,that it was difficult to work out which eventsto attend ahead of the discussion with the group.Also many of the young people didn't enjoy the evening meal because it wasn't heated properly.However they were tasty,varied and wholesome.These were only minor things.I thought the whole organisation was supurb and overseas pilgrims said it was the best WYD ever!

Female 20 Australia a bit more info eg- timetables for stuff that was happenening. the first few days of getting food were a bit hard but it seemed to be easier after everyone got used to it. maybe other stuff like we didnt know to bring something to swap with other pilgrims eg little badges or stickers etc. and maybe a bit more free time. but otherwise had a grand time

Female 50 Australia A bigger backpack than the day pack we were given... needed to fit a winter jacket into it for the night time and that was a problem

Female 50 Australia 1. Please make more people available to assist with the online registration, and make sue they know how to use the programme. 2. When handing out the food, perhaps look at a different system whereby groups don't need to gather so long or look for numbers (to make 6), perhaps by pre-ordering??

150

Male 31 Philippines 1. I used my password in the on-line registration. However, when I have to update the data of pilgrims in my group, the administrator(s) changed my password several times without informing other administrators of the change. I was locked out of my account when the deadline was almost there. The change in passwords was confusing for me. 2. In the on-line registration process, there seems to be so much information to fill in such that if one fails to tick on an item, the pilgrims' data (e.g. name) don't appear in the files of the Australian immigration, thus making his application for visa invalid/non-existent.

Female 46 Australia 1) WYD2008 was very regulated - looked like a team of lawyers put together the registration procedures - it was very frustrating. 2) When WYD2008 was first announced - we should already have prayer cards for all the churches ready - & sent out immediately - to get the community praying for it. Subsequently it was difficult to get hold of the prayer cards & in the quantities needed. 3) One of the Australian bishops who spoke - seemed to be full of social justice - but did not seem to have much of a depth of the spiritual life.

Female 33 Australia 1) We booked accommodation through Harvest pilgrimages and the cost was significantly more than if we had been able to book privately - I don't think this is fair for pilgrims. 2) Some information wasn't clear before the event ie the need to pre-register for certain events.

Male 30 Malaysia 1) Due to large crowds I trully understand that food can be a big issue but I would like to suggest different kind of menus everyday so that pilgrims wont get bored eating the same food for one week. 2) The bag packed with all the goodies that comes along with it is a great help and a good one and should be practice by other host countries. 3) The programme is quite packed and pilgrims will get tired very easily. If can try to space out the activities and have some free time for leisure/sight seeing. 4) The main Cathedral should not be close (or have visiting timings) to pilgrims due to certain activities or unforseen circumstances. It should be open most of the time so that pilgrims that comes from all over the world can visit the cathedral for prayers, reflection etc.

Male 36 Canada * Australians were excellent organizers and extremely helpful - I give them A+ * Food packages were very decent in Sydney * Consider making the WYD after Madrid someplace in North America again

Male 25 Canada (Registration Process) Group Linking (events and accomodation): This could use some improvement as our Canadian group tried to link with an Australian group and ran into some complications with our accomodation location and event coordination.

Female 27 Australia - Students need to be better selected (but not too well selected. What I mean is that I think it is important to give students the opportunity for conversion , but I think students need to be open to the experience and not there to be annoying to others) - The religious aspect of WYD needs to be emphasized in groups - and that its not just about meeting people - More IMMEDIATE follow -up for pilgrims - The FOOD!!!! (I'm sorry it was pretty bad!) - Luggage - it really is unacceptable that we had to spend a night without luggae. As a result I got quite sick - and I would hate to think what it would have been like for pregnant women. All in all I thought WYD was well organized...and fantastic for the Church in Australia

Male 59 Australia I would like to see a more organised registration, accommodation and travel structure.

Male 61 Australia I found that many pilgrims were not nourished by the food packs supplied

151

Female 30 India I don't have any suggestion....we all want perfections so lets pray to the One who is Perfect and who can when we are in His hand...lets us offer everything to Him in prayer. I'll be praying for all the youth whom God has called to be there in Madrid that they experience His touch which will last for their lifetime. Amen. God Bless!

Male 31 Cote d'Ivoire I beg you in the name of Almighty Lord Jesus Christ to assist me May God bless you as you take your divined decision concerning my official invitation letter And necessary document in your WYD l need you to send me a copy letter and your Cattalog Address to send me letter Through My P O Box Mr JOHN JAYEOLA TEWOGBOLA 11 BP 2033 ABIDJAN 11 MARCORY,Avenue F73 Cote d'lvoire Rue F102 canal. Lot N° 1395 COTE D'IVOIRE , IVORY COAST Tel 00225 47603614 Fax 00225 21262471

Female 59 United States I also want to comment on how organized the people of Sydney were to have everything go so smoothly and how the food prep. was organized also the bathroom facilities. I had a wonderful spiritual time and loved Australia.

Male 36 Australia - Good preparation and success. It has facilitated a sharing views, and opinions for a successful interaction, and communication based on defined and clear understanding responsibilities, and roles of members in the group for sensitive cohesion and strong relationships as Christian parishioners in a team. May God bless all the ones who put their hands and gave ideas to that unforgetable event.

Female 34 United States for priest to marry what it truly means to be in the presence of God

Male 20 Canada - Food organisation was well done - School accomadation: providing additional showers was good - Crowd control was excellent: allowing 'waves' of groups, then stopping, then allowing another wave of people to proceed

Male 31 Australia - extremely frustrating registration process - all last minute - quite a lot of food (i understand a lot of it was all thrown out - quite wasteful) - public transport was excellent - FREE :D - on the day very well organised (food, people management etc) - needs to be greater coordination between organising bodies/govt etc - too many different groups, too many agendas, far too much politics and complexity - value in spending taxpayer $, return on investment, BCR? - should have the option of going by yourself, shouldn't have to register with a group. also cost was an issue for some?

Female 22 Philippines During our stay, the problem that we have been pondering about was about food because we have a budget. But God os so good that wheneever we met Filipinos living there, they would willingly give us something to eat. They would shop for us, they pledged for our food for the night and they even gave us financial assistance. It was also seen from our brothers and sisters from Singapore during the opening mass in Barangaroo when we still have no ID’s and we have no food stubs, they shared their food with us. God really is the provider and it manifested through our experiences. He will not forsake us and He really uses other people to be instruments of His love for us. WE SURVIVED Besides all the everday walking that we experienced, there is also the pilgrim walk to Randwick Racecourse for the overnight vigil. It was really a struggle to walk that 8 km and sleep at the grass with the temperature of 3° during the wee hours of the morning. I just prayed to God and also made it as an offering that I may be able to endure the coldness of the night. With that, I felt God’s hand touch me and He warmed my being so that I survived the overnight vigil. In the morning, we were all blessed to see the Pope and we got the great view of him. I again felt the overwhelming feeling when I got to see the Pope because many are able to see him in pictures but I got to see him in person and that’s one of my dreams that came true when I said yes and became a Pilgrim. CHRIST IS IN EVERYONE . The plgrimage that we

152

had was really special because we met people that we saw Jesus Christ in them. It was Juan Martin Sylvester. He had been one of the people staying at Australian Backpackers and because of his love for God, he joined us in our pilgrimage. He helped us in every way he can and he was very kind to everyone. A funny thing also happens is that when we think of his whereabouts, he will just pop out of nowhere and find us even though there are so many people in the area. We asked him how he found us and he told us that God is his way. And another incident that strike me was when we were having our pilgrim walk, then we all feel exhausted and tired but he said that God also walked like this but lucky for us that we have no cross to carry. He really embodied Christ and I think that’s what God wants me to see that Christ is in everyone, no matter what race or nation that individual came from. IT FEELS LIKE HOME After the Final Mass of Pope Benedict XVI at Randwick, we walked again back home. But arriving there was not that exciting because it meant that the group will be saying goodbye to one another because we have to go to our respective sponsors for our homestay. Although we were not together, the blessings still did not stop because of the hospitality and treatment we got from our respective sponsors. Tita Marlyn and Tito Tony really welcomed us with warmth and love. God used them as instruments of his love for us and we felt home even If we are so far away from the Philipppines. Mark, Patrick and Patrick also entertained us by bringing us along to bowling and meeting some new friends. We really had a great time and they were really blessings to us. The Thanksgiving Barbecue Party that we had with all of us Pilgrims and our new- found friends was really a great experience. We sang songs of praise to God and say our thanks for all the blessings that we got for our stay in Sydney. It really felt that we were home in a foreign land because of the warmth they let us feel. The whole program and accomodations were organnized. They really thought of the things people may need at Randwick and what the crowd would like. It was such a wonderful experience! I thank God for giving the organizers such wonderful ideas and capabilities to do such. God bless!

153

PART II Things that tended to spoil the WYD experience

A two-part question was asked about difficulties experienced by pilgrims. In the first part, a checklist was provided (the items on the list were derived from observations at WYD and comments made by pilgrims in interviews). Survey respondents were asked: ‘Please check, in the list below, any aspects of WYD that significantly spoiled the experience for you.’

The table below records responses from all pilgrims of all ages; the version in the main text of the briefing paper includes only those up to age 35.

Things that spoiled the WYD experience (sorted by frequency) (% of all survey respondents).

There were minor inconveniences, but they didn't spoil the overall experience for me 43.5% Too many delays: long queues for food, registration, entry to events 14.7% Not enough free time -- required to stay with group 10.3% Not enough time for prayer and reflection 9.7% Too many people in the crowd were not serious 9.5% The commercialism / selling of WYD merchandise was excessive / inappropriate 8.6% Registration, travel, luggage delivery or accommodation were badly organised 8.2% A misfortune -- illness, robbery etc. happened to me or some/all of my group 8.1% There was too much to do; too busy and exhausting 8.0% The Masses and prayer services did not appeal to young people (e.g. classical music, very formal style) 7.7% The bishops' talks at the catecheses were boring, irrelevant to me 6.6% Accommodation, food or transport were just too far below standard 6.4% Not enough time for real questions at the catecheses 5.7% The crowd-control at events was excessive 5.4% The games and songs at the catecheses were too juvenile 4.2% It was old-fashioned Catholicism -- too conservative for me 4.2% (Respondents could choose more than one item, so percentages add to more than 100%)

At the end of the question the following was added: ‘If there was something else that significantly spoiled the experience for you, write it here.’ All of the 696 written-in responses to this part of the question are recorded in the pages that follow.

154

Male 22 Australia WYD was too short. Two weeks would have been awesome.

Male 31 India WYD Registration

Female 54 New Zealand WYD merchandise were expensive & not appropriate for student budget especially in overseas trips.

Female 18 New Zealand wouldn't say it spoiled my experiences but i would have like more personal experiences like how people have experienced God in their live and how that has changed them. Would have liked more personal experiences getting close to God like in praise and worship and for mass music that is more suited for this generation show the world and other Catholic members who could not be present how things have changed and how young people are able to handle tasks. The mass was made for a more mature pilgrim group than youth and most of the things were handled by older people and not youth

Female 60 Australia would have liked more time to talk in our group after our outings. we were to tired and busy all the ime..remember im 56 yrs old, but the kids didnt notice that.

Female 22 Australia Would have been great if the major masses ie. masses with the pope followed in the youth focused liturgies ie. music and worship delivered in the daily liturgies

Female 19 Canada Wish it lasted longer

Male 41 Australia whoever organised the buses in Melbourne and the luggage delivery should be excommunicated!

Male 33 Italy who joined to the package C, as myself, did not had the rucksac, as enclosed.

Female 23 New Zealand when I saw that some papers given by a Muslim man about Islam were ripped off by us young Catholics- was a bit sad because Jesus taught us to love one another. However, Im a bit concerned because Muslims do not accept that Jesus is God.

Female 16 New Zealand When i hurt my neck and i couldn't enjoy the concert at randwick =[

Male 59 United States Weather was cold especially at night.

Male 24 Australia weather

Male 30 Australia weather

Female 39 Canada We will not be taking youth under the age of 18 any more, too much supervision and thier interests were much different than the rest of the group, not quite mature enough for an event like this.

Female 57 Canada We were very far from the Holy Father and never really got a chance to see him. We were very far from the tv screens and that made it difficult. I thought that there could have been more tv screens at the Mass

Female 31 Australia we were staying too far away from central points and staying with an elderly lady which meant that we had to leave the city at 9:00pm just to be back at her house at a respectful hour

Female 24 Philippines We were not allowed to charge our mobile phones and digital cameras by the school we were staying in. The principal said it could be fire hazard. It really spoiled my perception of 'hospitality'. Though i understand safety comes first, i felt there was racial discrimination. They

155

even announced it over the paging system of the school and even said 'the Filipino pilgrims'. It may have spoiled my perception but it became a blessing in disguise - I love being a Filipino more than ever.

Female 46 Trinidad and Tobago We were always placed so far from the altar

Male 48 Australia We stayed at Olympic Park. It was run like a POW camp. The lights were turned out forcing people to get ready or bed in the dark. Couldn't even hang a towel up to dry. Real stupidity.

Female 19 New Zealand we organised own accomodation and wasnt done well

Female 19 United Kingdom We Missed our Flight and Arrived in Sydney 2 days late =(

Male 46 Canada We had looked forward to seeing the Pope go past while he was in his Pope Mobile, but in the end we were very disappointed as he went past at a rather fast speed. I don't know if he was late for another meeting but it was disappointing that he was going at such a fast pace, we were unable to take a photo or really even able to get a view of him.

Female 51 United States We froze the entire time. The site where we stayed didn't want us and treated us like unwelcome guests. Definitely not as friends.

Female 59 Australia We arrived at our designated area early and sat down for mass then a group from Italy, young and old came and started to set up tents and stared to take all over our small sitting corners. I told them that we just needed a small patch of sitting place for two as we were then, it was ignored and worse of it were the young lads spoke Italian loudly gesturing who cared? We did not give in and after much bodily language showing my displeasure, the older ladies left us the tiny space we had. Due to this unpleasantness, we left the designated area and moved to our daughter's and friends' area.

Male 31 Philippines We are happy that we were allowed to bring unaccompanied minors (<16yrs). We suggest to lower it to 14. Prohibitions in bringing in stuff like milk, wood products and the like is rigid.

Female 60 Australia Was not contacted to be a volunteer after many requests by phone, person, email right up to the start of the celebration

Male 54 United States Was not aware of some of the great speakers who were giving talks at the Convention Center

Male 54 Australia waiting hours on ones feet between and during functions

Male 52 Australia volunteers worse than police. Police really impressed me in good favour others power went to their head and was not needed in certain pionts

Male 47 United States Volunteers were friendly, but helpful. They don't know what is going on in terms of events schedules and places.

Male 21 Malaysia volunteers not briefed properly, some were as lost as me.

Female 24 Australia Volunteer arrangement was bad. I did not get in eventhough I applied in April 08!

Female 56 Australia vocations expo opening hours were too limited wanted to go but couldnt get in

156

Female 31 Philippines very long walk to bus stations, walk route changing

Male 19 United Arab Emirates Ver expensive

Male 57 Australia Vande

Male 23 Australia Use of Latin at the masses was not appealing to young people

Male 28 Hong Kong USA group (with the biggest flag) took over TWICE as more spaces in the Racecourse well before everyone arrived, but later official took their fences down to allow other groups to use the floor spaces!!! Plus the flag was put up higher than the Fence which blocked many viewers like us (NZ group 13-L3). One of the Cantonese Catecheses ogranised by THS community was purely tongue speaking/praise & worship the whole time, no games or sharing! I found was in-appropiate.

Male 25 United States unorthodox bishops speaking

Female 18 New Zealand unorganised leader

Male 41 Indonesia unfriendly people found on the trains

Female 25 Australia Unfriendliness of groups to people who weren't part of a group

Male 23 Australia unfair badge trading

Male 23 Australia Uncooked meat in food.

Female 22 New Zealand Unavaliablity of alternate foods for allergies or dietary requirements

Female 21 Australia Two out of the three Bishops at the catachesis were really condescending and talked down to us

Female 26 Ireland Tuna!!

Male 55 Australia Trying to help priests from other countries complete their recognition forms so they could celebrate mass

Female 31 Australia Travelling from venueeg Horton Pavillion was terrible and could not attract people who were left stranded in the city with no where to go as they had to pick up their meals in groups.

Female 20 South Africa traveling distance was far apart

Female 60 Australia Travel and luggage through Days in the Diocese were badly organised

Male 53 United States Travel

Male 27 Australia Transportation back to Melbourne from Sydney was badly handled. We also booked a time to visit St Mary's Cathedral for a pilgrimage, but was turned away at the door. That was very disappointing as the group was looking forward to that. We didn't have enough time in the following days to return for a visit because our itinerary was full.

Female 39 Canada transportaiton took at least 3 hours per dayvenues were often very far apart

Female 17 Australia transport was rushed

157

Female 38 New Zealand Transport times prevented night events as travel time was approx 90 mins was then up very early in the morning to meet morning mass etc accomdiation needs to be closer to allow full participation

Female 21 Australia transport

Female 31 United States too much unnecessary required walking such as when the streets were closed for great disctances after major events which prohibited getting a taxi

Female 15 Australia too much rock music

Male 28 Australia Too much

Female 27 Kuwait Too many youth in my group were not serious

Female 29 Canada Too many people treating the pope's visit as if he were the second coming of Christ. I respect the pope, and I believe he's the head of our church, but some people were crossing the line from respect into worship and it was actually rather heartbreaking to see so many people that seem to have lost sight of what's the most important aspect of our Catholic faith: Christ.

Female 18 Australia too many crowds

Male 46 Australia Too far to walk!!!

Male 19 Australia Too Evangelical

Female 43 Australia Too difficult at Randwick to keep our places when we registered early peolejust moved in with tickets no where near us. This became an issue as schools had duty of care especially problems with having girl's schools. This isn't Europe, Australia has laws that put teachers in compromising situations. This made the whole event stressful and would never do this again.

Male 28 Australia Toilets!

Female 38 Australia toilets were dirty and a lack of toilet facilitys.no coffee in the morning.

Female 32 Australia toilets stopped working at Randwick it was unfortunate it happened on the last day and when people woke up and realised that they can't use it and then it had to be used and it's dirty, not flashing.

Male 17 Australia Toilets on the weekend were gross

Female 24 Australia Toilets at Randwick were not up to standard

Female 19 Australia Toilets

Male 29 Australia Toilet cues were too long.

Male 50 Australia toilet blockage - they were shut down

Female 18 Australia to me every thing was fine.

Male 18 Australia To many swap between high energy talks and songs to old fashion out of date boring old traditions

Male 30 Australia timing of small events (QLD event) around big events

158

Female 21 Australia They ran out of food at the concert after the Opening Mass.

Female 18 Malaysia They closed the toilets

Female 27 United States They closed almost all of the bathrooms in our section at the Vigil. We had two toilets with very long lines for most of the time there! It is hard to pray when you have to go to the bathroom so badly.

Male 14 Philippines there were some people who just thought of theirselves and didn't think foe the spirit of the WYD

Female 60 United States there were no events that spoiled WYD for me.

Female 26 Australia There was so much that I wanted to see and do and not enough free time to do it in.

Female 18 United States There was really very little time with the Holy Father, and, aside from the Masses with him, many of the Masses were not very reverent. They tried too hard to appeal to youth and thus failed to focus on Christ first and foremost.

Male 44 Australia There was nothing to spoiled the experience for me

Male 40 United States There was nothing that spoiled the experience of WYD it was incredible.

Female 23 Canada There was not enough services for those that woud fall under a 'diability' heading.....very disapointing to see a Catholic event that was not inclusive. This event was not accesible 90% of the time.

Female 54 United States There was no time given to small group interaction.It would have given more time to discuss our faith with other pilgrims from other countries.

Male 42 Australia There was clearly a plan to have charismatic groups run the chatechisis. what a lost opportunity for dialogue with a less conservative group. we were pilgrims from Australia staying at a Christian Brothers school. The majority of the people at Chatechisis came from an edmund Rice spirituality background and the chatechisis was run by a charismatic group from Perth. There was tension in the one chatechisis I attended because they were clearly trying to screen the questions to the bishop. What an opportunity to have an edmund Rice focus for chatechisis at an Edmund Rice centre.

Female 21 Australia there was a feeling that there was one type of church present, the conservative and (paradoxically) charismatic, soical justice ignored

Female 27 Australia There was a bunch of people in our section at the Vigil who were up most of the night, being very noisy and rude, talking disrespectfully about women, etc. They tried to leave at one point (around 3 am) and security kept them IN. As a result of being kept up by these people, many pilgrims in our section actually slept through the final mass - the noisy boys left as soon as they could - before Mass even started.

Male 19 United States there should be an age limit because a lot of teens weren't there for WYD they went for the Australia

Male 20 Philippines there are some people who are discriminating us asians... on who, what, we are :(

Male 23 Australia the wyd booklet saying that there would be food availiable at a number of venues, but only being availiable at one

159

Female 59 United States The whole registration process online

Male 53 Australia the website didn't work: there were 2 or 3 of them which fed you from one to the other, then back again. I found it IMPOSSIBLE to enrol as a pilgrim on-line and had to go to central Sydney to do it myself... and missed out on the backpack!

Female 30 India the weather - it was difficult to sleep in a gym in the cold.

Male 17 United Kingdom The water problems at the Vigil, WYD merchandise was far too expensive also

Female 60 United States The vocations display was not readily available. I went to it when I had time only to find it was closed. Something that important should have been open almost 24/7. The other drawback was having to pay to visit different sites or only being able to see them at pre arranged times. When the youth were at Radwick, I would have loved to have visited Mary McClintock's shrines but they were closed.

Male 17 Philippines The visit to the cross and icon should have been mandatory, i missed it out unnoticely

Female 46 United States the venues were too far from where were staying spent more time go to a place that time to enjoy cathecheses

Female 47 United States the use of drugs, alcohol and the sleeping together of boys and girls at the vigil

Female 16 United States the tuna every day for lunch

Female 46 United States The travel distance and time to get between venues was overwhelming. It made the number of things possible for our group considerably lessened

Female 18 Malaysia the transport.all the pilgrims wer directed to one train station and it was very crowded because of this. we all had to squash in the trains.but it was not so bad because everyone was in high spirits

Female 44 Australia the toilets were unhygenic

Male 51 Australia The toilets were in out of order for extreme periods of time anad were disgustingly filthy. It was distressing crowds of people. The toilets couldn't cope for that volume of people.

Female 19 Australia the toilets not working properly

Female 17 Australia The toilets - they were blocked, and therefore the hygiene was disguistingly poor.

Male 57 Australia the 'thees' & 'thous' in the Hail Marys at the Stations of the Cross. It was a great opportunity to modernise this prayer

Female 20 Australia the stews and canned tunas! too much!

Male 53 Australia the speed of the pope around sydney after waiting all day for this event

Male 45 Italy The speakers were not working in the section I was in during much of the Pope's talk at Barangaroo upon his arrival.

160

Female 45 Canada tHE SLEEPING BAGS AND MATS THAT WE ORDERED THROUGH HARVEST TOURS DID NOT FIND THEIR WAY TO US UNTIL WE ONLY HAD 2 DAYS LEFT IN AUSTRALIA!

Female 23 Indonesia The screen during the papal arrival and station of the cross was too low. I can hardly see anything or hear anything

Female 26 United States the same food everyday. It was that bad but it got really old eating it for every meal.

Female 19 Australia the return bus transport from the city did not let pilgrims get on for free in the Baulkham Hills area.

Male 18 Australia The Quality And Quantity Of The Food Given

Male 18 Canada The priest I talked to at confession could not help me properly.

Female 17 Australia the price of the world youth day merchandise

Female 48 Canada The prayer Vigil was significantly changed from previous years--Adoration has a place already at Randwick. The prayer vigil should have been more youth friendly.

Female 49 Australia the positioning and height of the screens at Barangaroo were too low especially when there were so many flags. It was hard to see the pope on the screen.

Male 19 Guam the popes visit to short

Female 28 Australia The pilgrim walk to randwick was a little too long that my 14 month old baby and I couldnt go for the clossing mass next day because my legs and all joints were aching real bad...

Male 17 Philippines the people who showed no respect to pilgrims in Australia

Female 15 Australia The people that led my group, namely three lacked a pastrol approach, and I experienced verbal abuse and being dictated by them. I had a horrible experience with three women and I completely regrett going.

Male 18 New Zealand the people in charge were bitches, no freedom, fuk tht, id rather get arrested than go on wyd again

Female 39 Australia The parish groups being split into A B and C meant that we were in completely seperate areas for events and accommodation, and no connections were shared.

Male 22 Australia the over patriot stance of some

Female 48 Australia The ost Property area was not well defined and I found it very fristrating trying to find someone who could help me find my camera which i fhink was stolen from outside the toilets

Female 24 Australia the organisation of getting places, like the walk back from Randwick - One minute i was in Central Station, the next i've been ushered out, walking for an extra 30min just to get back INTO Central Station to catch a different line - ridiculous

Female 39 Australia The only thing was that there was no advertising that there was bus travel organised from Central to Randwick. It was too far for my kids to walk so we couldn't go all the way and only found out on the way back to our accom. that there was a bus. We may have stayed the night if we'd

161

known. Also , because we didn't sleep there we didn't get a hamper for the next day as we expected, so we were hungry and had to ask around for left overs.

Male 28 Australia The non christian people that try bother us in a way or another.

Female 23 Australia The negativity of one particular woman at the arrival of the Pope at Barangaroo because of the wheelchair access, which I thought was perfectly OK

Female 22 Australia The music etc at Catechesis was unsuitable (too loud, irreverent, not God-focussed enough) and the first bishop we had for Catechesis was not an engaging speaker and also did not have strong conviction in the church's teaching on some issues

Male 34 Australia The music before and after the vigil was pretty ordinary and was too loud. If I wanted to go to a concert I would go to a concert.

Female 22 United States the music at the opening mass was too old fashioned

Male 24 Singapore The music at the Closing Mass was too 'ornate,' making it difficult to sing along. While the evening vigil should have incorporated small group prayers, that way, there would be fewer restless young people walking and talking.

Male 22 Australia The mismanagement and incompetence by my parish.

Male 30 Malaysia the minority of Sydneysiders who were anti-WYD and hurled insults at pilgrims

Female 21 Australia the merchandise was over priced. I wish I could have bought more but I couldn't afford it. Being a young person that is a student means that it is hard for us to have much money to buy these sorts of things which arent really classified as necessities. I think it would have been better if the merchanise was sold at a cheaper price - then it would have all been sold which would be better because after it's over who's going to buy a shirt that says WYD 08? Don't be so greedy by trying to make a profit.

Female 15 Australia the long queues caused you to become not as appreciative of the event that you were waiting for and as a result, were ignorant to the presence of God

Female 15 Australia the long queues caused me to not be able to appreciate the event as much as it made me annoyed that i could be doing something else. as a result, i was unable to feel the presence of God at that event

Female 44 Australia the leaders of our small group could have taken more responsibility for the younger members of the group

Female 21 Australia The lead up to World Youth Day left me drained and sick by the time the event arrived. I was still missing passes and was fixing problems with Egeria throughout WYD. I feel that there were not enough staff working behind the scenes, as many other parish helpers and group leaders had the same experience.

162

Female 23 Australia the late night singing/dancing during the vigil. It was already freezing cold and the singing made it worse. I could not get any sleep and thus fell asleep during the papal mass

Female 60 Australia The lack of showers at the school venue was really disappointing also lack of privacy at same .Not being able to go back to our accomodatiom after the final Mass was difficult and meant that our group was homeless and having to carry bedding for a long period of time,needs attention as it was the same problem in Germany!!

Female 50 Australia the lack of provison of eveing food at Bondi and lunch at Banrangaroo on teh Friday. hard for kids who were on a budget. Cost me a fortune!!

Female 45 Australia the lack of correct information re: attendance and the lack of inclusion of Public School students in my Diocese

Male 45 Australia The 'Jesus walks' statues were an abomination. A sacrificing of Christ to post-modern secular 'art'.

Male 33 Australia The instructions for the pilgrim walk to Randwick specifically said that you didn't need to start early because your assigned space at Randwick would be available when you got there. Well it wasn't, and our group ended up on a sandy, rocky piece of ground next to a smelly portaloo a very long way from the altar. If they had enforced people going to the area they'd been assigned as diligently as they did for the events at Barangaroo this wouldn't have happened.

Male 46 Australia The inexperiece and lack of leadership of some staff at volunteer registration and an inadequacy of systems (ie needed more than a glorified excel spreadsheet. The generous german volunteers had language difficulties. The allocation of volunteer roles also appears to be based on mates rather than ability. Volunteers were not adequate in numbers for Randwick and the Spanish conned uniforms with the pretence of volunteering on the last night but shot through. Large detours and blockages between Rail stations and events were unneccessary security.

Female 32 Australia The indigenous catechesis could have been so much better, it was long, and not interactive and far too conservative for the school age students who attended.

Male 56 Australia the hype and spin throughout

Male 20 Australia the homophobia

Male 18 United States The Group I Was Traveling With

Male 28 Indonesia The Gay and Lesbian Movement

Female 35 United States the free hugs

Female 28 Canada The format of the Vigil prayer--not youth friendly

Female 29 United States The food.

Female 22 New Zealand the food, just became boring, often just didnt eat it.

Female 45 Australia The food wastage. At the sleep out in Randwick, hundreds of thousands of tins of food were thrown in the bin.

Female 30 Mexico The food was terrible, was there a purpose to have the same everyday? If so, should tell us

163

Female 16 Australia the food was really bad

Female 34 New Zealand The food points around the city - there was just not enough it was an absolute mission to go to these places, another arriving at the wrong gate and then having to be turned away it was FRUSTRATING - I think the security was too excessive but appreciated. The NSW Police were the BEST or in peer terms - THE BOMBEST! wonderful and very vigilent, very helpful in every aspect and our group just respected that. The police we met, I think our NZ police could learn a lot from them on people skills - thank NSW Police You the Best Frendo!

Female 17 Australia the food

Male 28 Ireland the flu from our accomodation put a damper on the vigil for a number of us and made the closing mass more an endurance marathon than a spiritual high

Male 16 Australia the flood of pilgrims on the Sunday morning into our sleeping area.

Female 18 United States the flight was delayed a day

Female 23 Australia the final mass, too old fashioned, bit of an anti climax

Female 48 Australia the final mass was a show without consideration whether anybody could participate in the singing, understand all the readings or prayers

Female 57 Australia The fact that it was so expensive for people with a disability to participate. There should have been concessions for them and for their carers. This is a matter of justice within our own Church

Male 27 Canada The extreme lack of organization between my Diocese and WYD planning committee for those with disabilities

Female 40 Australia the events were simultaneously happening and the distance was far from each other too.

Female 23 Canada The events were not organized very well. For instance since there was a large group event (like the stations of the cross, etc) every day and we had our catechesis so far from these places we never got the chance to do any of the other events/seminars, etc. We spent all our time traveling from catechesis to barangaroo

Female 60 Australia The event that we put on: Columban Youth Theatre of the Oppressed which was part of the Youth Festival events and which was excellent and took and enormous amount of work, was advertised as fully booked. On the night, only a small number turned up. THose who had wanted to come missed out. We had very good catechetical resources which we were unable to get out to young people.

Female 19 New Zealand the event (for example pope's arrival) was so big but the screens were way too far and low for the people at the back. It was very unfair and it spoiled the experience.

Male 24 Singapore The drums and cliched pop noise from the stage that was being passed of as 'music', made it extremely difficult to pray.

Male 33 Australia The dividing roadway that lead directly to the Santurary is a significant inconvenience for me to croos over to the other side to visit some groups that I know, where I want to spent time with them for a particular event at the final two days of WYD.

164

Female 32 United States The distance to walk from events to closest public transportation was too far.

Female 50 Australia The distance of travel from venues. Late arrivals at home and the constant stress of having very little sleep. The expectations from the co-ordinators of our group were too high whilst they had a very relaxing time going to the hairdressers and dinner whilst the rest of the group leaders struggled on with groups of highly active young people.

Female 24 New Zealand The disrespect of another pilgrim (not from our group) to the event and one of our group members (she was verbally attacked) on the final virgil

Male 16 United States the days in the diocese

Female 26 Australia The crowd control wasn't too bad however in the morning of the closing mass I went to confession and was not warned that the rest of the oval would be closed off an hour before the popes arrival, I and many people were prevented from going back to our spots and, when we were allowed back in the mass had statrted and I wasn't prepared at all. The other thing at Randwick were the closed barrackades that were put throughout the oval that were strongly policed, it made it really hard to get around and compared to Cologne prevented a feeling of freedom and community, may not have been helped though

Female 22 Australia the crowd control was a bit excessive, but we understood that it needed to be done even though it wasn't fun taking 2 hours to walk only 2 kilometres!! and there was so much to do! one week is not enough time to do everything that I wanted to do! (though I wanted to do everything that was offered!!) I also thought that at some of the Masses, they were very traditional-style - 'high christology' masses that I don't really prefer. I know some of them had to be traditional, but I like to be able to participate and sing etc. and when there is all the Latin parts in the Mass, I feel excluded. They

Female 31 Australia The crowd control at Randwick, there were long queues and insufficient paths to allocated seating. There seem to be no order as to where seatings/sleeping areas were.

Male 24 Australia the cost of world youth day and how the money was spent on the bags and content including picture books koala bears, coupons torches and blankets, and books. waste of money when xv1 asked us to change our disposabl lifestyles

Female 49 Australia the cost for people with disability and their support person. THe cost made it inaccessible for many people with disabiltiy becasue you had to pay for two people.

Male 27 Australia The contractors WYD employed to event organise were incompetent

Female 20 Australia the concerts were too rocky etc. They need to be relevant to our faith, hyms from different parishes and different catholic hyms are more appropriate then a random man or lady singing things we didnt understand. there needs to be booklets with these hyms so people could sing these hyms along with the parish. This would also get alot of the parishes or different rites involved in WYD

Male 35 Philippines The cold weather during th night vigil at Randwick

Female 46 Canada the cold weather

165

Female 42 United States The closing liturgy was disappointing. Too formal and music was not at all youth friendly, like the other liturgies were.

Male 39 Canada The city/ local economy sleeps TOO early, and I'm not even an owl back at home!

Female 17 Australia the catholicism wasn't too conservatisve but the closing mass and most of the masses were far too traditional/old fashioned and subsequently boring. The latin was difficult to understand.

Male 18 New Zealand The Catholic faith was trivialized, comercialized and infantilized in a brutal parody of itself.

Male 49 United States The Catecheses sessions needed to be more youthful in there apoproch. Looking at the faces of all the young people setting in our section they were bored. It didn't move them. Speakers that can relate to young people would have helped. The Stations of the cross could have been more engaging. They were beautiful but I wish we could have traveled from station to station to be part of that procession.

Male 27 Australia The catechese on the Holy Spirit could have been deeper

Male 34 Australia The borderline idolatry in the constant hero worship of the Pope. People simply ignoring the needs of Jesus Christ in the person standing right beside them because they wanted to see the Pope.

Female 25 Canada The bishop at our cathechesis was done by the Melkite Catholics and they told a girl in our group she couldn't receive communion because her shoulders were exposed. Totally inappropriate. Also, someone was sticking a camera and videotaping us during mass, while praying, etc. I have no idea who he was and he did not ask the group for permission first. The registration was ridiculous. I waited over 3 hours to get my packages and then they didn't have enough backpacks for us in the end. VERY frustrating!

Female 30 Czech Republic The biggest problem according me was really bad communication with DID or WYD team about problem with luggage delivery between Melbourne and Sydney. Some of us pilgrims did not have their luggages for 3 days and it was not acceptable for me as a group leader. I had to look for

Female 43 Australia The biggest and most daming was registration. Not every one has a computer and not every one has the internet. To be able to pick up forms at the parish house and fill in would have been so much better. As it was my candidate and I missed out on so much just trying to chase up registration and tickets for her supporters it was demorilising and if the Pope was not going to be present I'm sure we would have just given up and Judi would have happily been confirmed at home. My child wants to go when he is old enough, however I would not want him to go through such a stressfull registration proces

Male 34 Australia The Baptist handing out false accusations about the pope, our lady,the church,etc

Female 20 Philippines the atheists who rallied on the way to randwick but it did not totally spoiled the experience, for the most part it helped me became more proud of my religion

Male 24 Australia The Anti-Pope protesters

Male 35 Canada The animation of the catecheses was not designed to really seek questions from the young people, because it only sought questions from those who could ask them in front of a group, and spontaneously

166

(on the spot). It would have been better to pass pieces of paper, allow time for people to write their questions, and then answer them.

Female 21 New Zealand The amount of litter left on the street by the pilgrims was disgusting, I saw many pilgrims also be incredibly disrespectful and inconsiderate to Sydney residents whose main street had been closed off! Many appeared not to have a care in the world.

Female 15 Australia teens swearing

Female 24 Samoa technology at the very beginning beore my team left to Sydney

Female 44 Australia Taxi drivers complained that resturants and hotels had to close for the event, and all pilgrims having free public transports, that is why they do not take taxis and they swear bloody week - I can't say spoil , but I think how come those guys are so selfish, NSW government takes the profits of $4M and the highest exposure of visitors to the city at the crunching time otherwise as it is expensive for visitors in mid 08 with th epinch of the global crisis financially

Female 29 Australia t

Male 23 Canada Sydney's too expensive (the WYD-SYD package should have provided us with more subsidies than just McDonald's)

Female 17 Australia such a strong emphasis on aboriginal spirituality at australia's culture, I felt that there's so much more to australian culture than just aboriginals and through that this should have been expressed as well

Male 34 Australia standing in line for 4 hours only to be told that I had to go to another registration office at darling habour

Male 54 Australia standing for long periods waiting

Female 17 Australia Spending the week with people who weren't my close friends and the event didn't change their personalities (didn't make them any nicer)!

Female 35 Australia speakers at catecheses need to be in touch with young people and their faith journey, 1 out of 3 was

Male 24 United States Sound of helicopters flying overhead while we were trying to have quiet moments of prayer and reflection

Male 56 Myanmar Sorry I tried to find one and I couldn't, It was wonderful. No complain at all.

Female 18 New Zealand songs were not appropriate for the larger events ie opening/closing mass. weren't very youthful.

Female 24 Ireland Sometimes felt that I was being brainwashed

Male 27 Singapore somehow it was difficult to focus on mass when the mass was held in an open space (opening mass, closing mass)

Female 16 Australia some time new music is over the top

Female 37 Australia Some right wing political bias from some American Priests and Religious totally inappropriate as they shouldn't be politically biased and robbing democracy

Female 22 Australia some pilgrims were rude and pushy in queues etc

167

Female 16 New Zealand some people's attitudes and focouses

Male 17 Australia some people in the group I was with were there for the wrong reasons, but the crowd on a whole was great

Female 30 Australia some people in the crowd had dissapointing behaviour

Female 18 New Zealand Some people in my group were not there for the right reasons.

Female 25 Japan some people from group, went on trip for social and sightseeing reasons, not spiritual

Female 30 Australia some participants were not very considerate and patient

Female 58 Canada Some one in the group stole the Australian Flag that a young Australian boy presented to me for my birthday.-Thou shall not steal.

Female 22 Australia Some of the masses celebrated after catecheses were confusing, the liturgy was significantly departed from the norm in some.

Female 18 Australia some of the discussions during our catechese sessions severly offended some of teh people in my group and i believe were not appropirite at such event eg. some of the people in my group were not baptised catholics however believe in the teaching of jesus crist and our bisop went on to say that people who were not baptised were seen differently in the eyes of god

Female 19 Guam Some of the city's art painted on statues of Jesus and His Sacred Heart seemed sacrilegous to most of us, though it did make us think about the whole

Female 48 Ireland some of our Diocesan group didn't get there because of flight difficulties

Female 48 Ireland some of our diocesan group didn't arrive due to flight difficulties

Female 19 Canada Some of my group was there for the wrong reasons, engaged in behavior that was not appropriate for a pilgrimage.

Female 31 Canada some of my group members only wanted to hang out at their host families houses and watch TV and play on the internet. This was very frustrating!

Male 32 Malaysia Some misunderstanding with group members.

Male 23 Australia Some misprints in the WYD schedule lead to my group showing up to a presentation that was actually the day before. Was really looking forward to it.

Male 22 United States Some liturgical innovations bordered were a little too wacky for my tastes.

Female 19 Australia Some lady shouted at me for pushing even though i had waited for food for 2 hours.

Female 26 Australia some kids had alcohol

Female 40 New Zealand some kids didn't seem to realise the importance of the holy father

168

Male 61 Japan Some German backpackers were eating and conversing during the closing mass. they only stood up to cheer when the pope spoke in German.

Male 22 Philippines some collegues other interest...not participating such activities thinking that were in a group and we should walk as one.

Female 20 Australia Some Bishops refused to fully support Church teachings (eg on sexuality)

Male 21 Australia so narrow minded in approach to spirituality and questioning and philosophical examinaitoin

Female 21 United States smokers/smoking

Female 28 Australia SMOKERS!!!

Female 21 Australia Sleeping at Randwick Racecourse was way too cold and also the toilets kept blocking up and were really gross and smelly.

Male 17 Australia Sleeping arrangements

Female 19 Canada Size of the crowd

Female 58 Australia should have received our information booklet and location maps and programme timetable earlier so i can organise my schulde.

Female 24 Australia Should concentrate on more Catholic artists/helpers... like the Canton was Anglican - surely you could've come up with more Catholic singers etc!!

Female 24 Australia SHARED SHOWERS - NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Male 33 Australia Selling of merchandise near us at barangaroo the entire way through the opening mass including during the eucharist.

Female 22 Australia Seeing people lose patience at queues e.g. swear, pushing and shoving. Some volunteers at the food queues were very unreasonable e.g. some people had waited for 2 hours only to find out they had to go to the other line -they should of told us that before -miscommunication.

Male 27 Australia seeing a young couple use the event for sexual misconduct

Female 32 United States Seating at one of the catecheses sessions did not allow for us to hear for two hours.

Male 40 Australia saturday vigil was shockingly cold...my wife's pregnant so we had to go home at 9pm...that was a big downside and my neice got sick because she stayed out all night

Female 24 Ireland rowdy group of Australian schoolboys at vigil, talking throughout even during silence and keeping my group awake with pranks and inappropriate talk - should have been better controlled by teachers

Male 16 Australia Rock Music

Female 19 Australia restrain from communicating with other groups majority of the time

Female 17 Australia restictions made by our group leaders

169

Female 32 Australia registration was very difficult

Female 35 Canada registration for volonteers and animation teams

Male 27 Kenya Rational engagement during the final mass

Male 29 Australia Randwick site not adequately set up to accomodate Weekend only pilgrims, they were not based anywhere near the large screens and could not fully experience the evening Vigil or closing mass.

Female 41 Australia Randwick racecourse Mass was ruined by tradesmen (plumbers) driving up and down the walkways continuously throughout the Mass it was terrible.

Male 21 Malaysia quarrel with friends

Male 16 Canada quality of food

Male 27 United States Qantas changing our flights so we missed the opening mass

Female 17 Australia Public toilets weren't always clean.

Male 21 Ireland Protestors and people who gave out leaflets that condemn catholicism

Female 16 Australia Protesters on the streets against Catholicism and Catholic values. Pro-abortion displays; etc. They were completely inappropriate and disgracefully ruined the atmosphere.

Female 20 Ireland protesters

Male 21 Malaysia Protesters

Male 51 New Zealand priest registration was shambolic so much so mnay never registered

Male 44 Australia priest registration

Male 32 Sudan prices of t.shirts

Female 18 Australia price of WYD merchandise

Male 38 Australia Poor volunteer organisation

Female 60 Australia Poor toilet facilities at Randwick

Male 61 Australia Poor support from the WYD organisers. I understand they were busy but the whole organisation seemed to be uncohesive.

Female 29 Australia Poor shower conditions at the school

Female 24 Australia Poor organisation in terms of group allocation and seating. It really broke my heart to have to ask our pilgrims about whether they wanted to give up their seats in Randwick or not. This was NOT a decision that anyone should've made and better organisation and time management by the WYD office could've prevented it. I had to part from the group DURING WYD week to pick up passes because they hadn't all been printed yet. This should be taken into consideration when planning Madrid 2011.

Male 47 United States Poor handling of credentials for clergy, even after registering in advance

170

Female 44 Australia poor administration

Male 24 Australia police presence

Male 16 New Zealand Pilgrims being very long winded at the catecheses

Male 16 United States Pilgrims and just people in general smoking

Male 25 Canada personal (agrument with a friend)

Female 61 New Zealand people with disabilities were pushed to the back of the main events to be near the toilets!!! So they could neither see the Big Screens nor feel part of the whole because they were segregated!

Male 16 Australia People who were not a part of wyd who were giving out anti chsritan flyers and cd's

Female 18 Malaysia people who were giving anti-catholism, HANDING CONDOMS WHEN WE WERE ENTERING RANDWICK... I MEAN FOR GOODNESS SAKE, SCREEN THROUGH THESE PEOPLE... THEIR DOING IS WAY TOO MUCH

Female 18 Australia People that were drunk and being silly

Female 16 Australia people taking drugs

Female 41 Canada people smoking without thought for other's comfort or health, and no respect (people talking) during the Stations of the Cross

Male 17 Australia People smoking during the eveing vigil

Female 23 Hong Kong people smoke in open-air events

Female 17 New Zealand People pushing to get dinner - I was shocked by how rude and impatient people were, especially at a Catholic gathering. I was disgusted and also worried someone would get hurt. This was for dinner at the Opening mass.

Female 24 Australia People not part of world youth day expressing hurtful comments against Catholics. Also, hearing about the protestors - They were a joke. I stress though that this didn't significantly spoil my experience, it was just plain annoying and uncalled for.

Male 25 Singapore People didn't even bother even when Pope Benedict was speaking

Female 17 Australia People complaining about WYD

Female 17 Australia people complaining about noise

Male 27 Australia Pell's opening speech

Male 19 Australia Partaking in the pilgrim walk (even the shorter pilgrim walks) were required to get to Randwick and were not optional. It was an immense struggle for those who were ill and bordered on dangerous for many exhausted pilgrims.

Female 52 Australia outer location

Female 35 Guam Our reserved area at the WYD vigil and closing mass were taken by another group. I also experienced this with my group in Germany. We were very upset, but saw that the devil in both instances was trying to steal the spirit from us. So we just found another area.

171

Female 57 United States Our personal busses were taken for general transportation. That's all.

Female 46 Australia Our parish was supposed to have 120 pilgrames and we wereall set up for them extra food hot breakfast, donated food home cooked meals extra we only had 10 turn up organisers and helpers very dissapointed. there big chance to be involedand it was a fizzer.

Male 34 United States Our Parish was planed to provide music for one of the catechetical session but our Archdiocese was asigned another session and we could not get other transprtation to provide the music. Poor planning in getting us mached up.

Female 24 Australia Our parish group was not able to stay together during the vigil at Randwick because of errors in issuing passes, and half our group being positioned in a high-security area.

Female 51 New Zealand Our main group (I was in a family group) had to spend the first night at the Olympic Village then travel across to Manly with all their luggage by public transport. It would have been much better to go straight from the airport to Manly in the bus that we had paid a considerable sum of money for. Also during the week nearly every member of the group came down with a very bed viral? illness and about 4 had to be taken to the doctor or hospital. Whether they would have been less stressed by going straight to Manly I'm not sure.

Male 55 Australia Our leader and the bitch in competition with her for control

Female 51 United States Our housing site was the worst. I have been to 6 WYD's. This was by-far the worst experience. They made us eat breakfast outside in the cold, we showered outside in the cold, they never did turn the heat on. I wouldn't invite someone into my home, and tell them here is a box of cereal, go eat it outside. The facility was new, beautiful and perfect in many ways. We were treated like animals. I understand the demands and at times heavy burden is huge to plan something of this magnitude and find appropriate housing for everyone, but certain standards should be met for each housing site. W

Male 49 United States Our hosts at our school made it clear that they learned very late that we were assigned to them and they were less than hospitable about this.

Female 42 Germany our group was split up to 4 different accomodations far away from each other

Female 20 Australia our group was separated for the night under the stars, poor organisation of our randwick passes

Female 28 Ireland our group needed more time b4 hand to gell as a group...

Male 18 Canada Our group dynamics were not that good

Female 28 Australia Our Diocese

Female 17 Australia our bishops for catechesis were completely out of touch

Female 46 Micronesia Our assigned spot at the closing mass was too far from the stage and passersby were blocking our view of the big screen, it was too distracting. I didn't get anything out of the mass due to the people walking about.

172

Female 32 New Zealand Our animators were okay, but awful for the parts of the mass. We understood they were stand-ins, and did a good job as such, but they had no concept of the role of music in the mass, and so the congregation couldn't participate, which really detracted from those masses following catechesis. We were disappointed to have the same animators each day.

Male 19 Australia Our accomodation didn't have mattresses, which left us exhausted and sore each day.

Female 21 Australia other people who didn't agree with world youth day trying to convince youths that there is no GOD, bad poster about our faith i found it very spoiled the experience to me on my way to the program of the day and my way home.

Male 47 Australia organisation of priests and their availability and their resources was insufficient.

Male 43 Australia Only the food

Female 19 New Zealand Only group organised activities were not planned to the liking of the majority of the group

Female 35 Australia one team leader in my volunteer group harassed us during station of the cross in Barangaroo in front of the crowd.

Male 52 New Zealand one or two critical adults who gave me grief in the planning and implementation of our WYD experience

Female 25 Kenya One of the Volunteer

Female 17 Australia one of my group leaders spoiled the night vigil at randwick and the closing mass,she made it a horrible end for my group

Female 48 Australia one member came to the week drinking. Constantly disagreeing and ringing on mobile phone. Some people in group did not agree to the locations so had to split group because of different age groups

Female 61 Australia Old people having to walk back to city after closing Mass

Male 32 Australia Nothing!!!

Female 17 Australia nothing!

Female 27 Canada Nothing spolied anything for me! Loved it all!

Female 19 Canada Nothing spoiled the experience. It was amazing

Female 19 Ireland nothing spoiled it for me

Female 18 Australia nothing it was amazing

Female 15 Australia nothing at all

Female 26 New Zealand NOTHING :)

Male 17 Australia Nothing

Male 33 Australia Nothing

Female 18 United States nothing

Female 29 Australia nothing

173

Female 18 Australia nothing

Female 29 Australia nothing

Male 30 Australia nothing

Female 50 Qatar nothing

Female 40 Australia nothing

Female 29 United States nothing

Male 15 Australia nothing

Female 18 Australia nothing

Male 32 Australia Nothing

Female 17 Indonesia Not very well organized during the Evening Vigil and Final Mass

Male 29 Canada Not traditional enough. The night with the Dominican's at the University was awesome

Female 50 New Zealand Not receiving my order for sleeping bags, etc. from Harvest for which I paid but was not refunded.

Male 30 Australia not reaching the haf million people at closing mass

Female 39 Australia not possible to watch the stations of the cross

Female 22 United States not many liked the pumkin soup

Female 17 New Zealand not long enough

Female 33 Australia not having schedules more in advance to select and plan for my group

Female 28 India not exactly

Female 28 Australia not everyone could go to the final mass due to the cost of entry they had to pay if they werent registered.

Female 20 Australia not enough time to get to all the small events because we spent so much time travelling to the big events

Female 39 Australia Not enough time to cover all activities

Female 25 United Kingdom Not enough time to attend talks etc.

Female 16 Australia not enough time for youth festivals

Female 18 Australia Not enough time for extra sessions

Female 19 United States not enough soviner shopping time

Male 28 Australia not enough showers

Female 23 Taiwan not enough information in other three official languages

Male 45 Australia not enough emphasis on the actual power and work of the Holy Spirit to do miracles, signs and wonders.

174

Female 43 Australia not enough access & support for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

Female 23 Australia not being able to get back into your area when you left to go to the toilet etc, also being so far out of sydney was not good (travelling was really hard)

Female 46 United States not being able to be at our housing site from 9am until 7pm -and maybe taking showers in a bathing suit outdorrs at night when the temp fell to freezing with frost.

Female 24 United States Not being able to access restrooms due to inadequate signage.

Female 22 Canada Not being able to access our accomodations and belongings for most of the day was extrememely difficult to work around. As well the Ukrainian Catholic catecheses was almost non-existant, it mostly consisted of liturgy and a medicore homily, that was it.

Female 23 New Zealand Not all the bishops but i was slightly gutted with a couple of them. They had an amazing audience that wanted to feed off knowledge that just wasnt given!

Male 46 New Zealand not all talks were irrelevant

Female 49 Philippines None. Everything went smoothly

Female 46 Australia NONE AT ALL

Female 16 Australia none

Female 24 Canada NONE

Male 16 Australia None

Male 20 Ireland none

Female 51 Australia none

Female 22 Australia none

Female 54 Australia None

Female 19 New Zealand non-catholics selling satan products

Male 31 Australia non believers giving out anti-Christ materials

Female 31 Australia noisy 'sleepers' in dorm

Male 17 Australia No Friends

Female 61 Australia no complaints

Female 22 Australia no Adoration at our Catechesis point.

Female 47 Australia nil

Female 27 India negative feedback in media about the event - it felt like anti-catholic backlash and younger members of my group were wondering at the hostility.

Male 22 United States needed more classical/Latin music, that appeals to more Catholic Youth than Protestant imitation praise and worship songs. We

175

are Catholic and the chants are part of our living tradition. Latin is the universal language of the Church and it seems like people in their 30s 40s or older do not think we can handle real Catholicism. If we are never given the chance to take the Catholic faith seriously, with all her traditions, then you can never expect Catholic Youth to move from Youth Group faith to becoming active practicing adults.

Female 57 Philippines need to plan a better mode of food distribution - on some venues

Male 24 Australia Need a much more nutritious diet. Stewed meat and meat pies are not the best option. Also all the packaging the food was in was wasteful, created rubbish and was in no way environmentally friendly

Female 52 Canada n0t having a printout ahead of time for all leaders in the groups to talk and discuss with youth as to some of the other guest speaker forums and where they were located.

Male 22 Australia N/A

Female 44 Australia n/a

Male 36 Ghana n/a

Female 22 United States Myself, as well as a lot of young Catholics, love the fact that the church still shares in tradition. I thought that World Youth Day only catered to those who enjoy Contemporary Worship. This was a complaint that I heard from a lot of people in the group that I was with. Add some chant next time or something that shows how Catholicism is the same as it was 2000 years ago. It was hard to feel the presence of God in the midst of all of the concerts and contemporary style worship for those that do not enjoy that style.

Male 24 Pakistan My Visa Refusal

Female 55 Canada my visa did not arrive, my husbands did, paid for a new one in Canada, and it did not arrive either, so had to pay for 3 visa's!!!

Female 37 Australia my son sprained his ankle badly at Barangaroo Concert and we had to spend rest of the wk limping, even into Randwick and no one assisted us enough

Female 22 New Zealand My need for an Electonic Travel Authority was overlooked as I am a permanent resident of New Zealand, but have a passport of a different country that requires an ETA for entry into Australia.

Female 18 Canada my leader went on a slight power trip the last night so i couldn't say good bye... i didn't exchange info with my friends, i was very upset

Female 22 India my interaction with the other pilgrim was not at on personal level...was expecting that,and was quite disappointed.

Female 48 Australia My husband and I were only able to attend the last two days of WYD but it was a wonderful experience. At the Papal Mass at Randwick the one thing that disappointed me was that it wasn't truly a youth mass- the music was traditional and even the our Father was sung in Latin. We didn't feel there was a lot we could contribute to the celebration whereas singing is a wonderful way of praising God.

Female 22 Canada My homestay was in Camedon. It was far too far to experience WYD fully, travel, and be respectful of our hosts.

Female 15 United States my group was egged just because we are Catholic

176

Female 28 Australia My group leader did not have contact with me due to me being on crutches and therefore it may have been too much work for her

Female 23 New Zealand my group had afew conflects, but that was sorted out

Female 32 Ireland My group couldn't organise tickets for me to go to the stations of the cross

Female 18 Australia my group

Female 21 Canada My gourp consisted of people outside the age range of youth, and I really think groups such as this should be told not to go to WYD, because it really brought me down

Female 48 Australia my camera went missing at the Final Mass &I couldn't find the the lost property department. There was no one place to go to. I was very frustrated

Male 22 Australia My brother's being very demanding

Male 17 New Zealand Music!!! world YOUTH day. Music needs to appeal to the youth.

Male 32 New Zealand music during big masses not able to sing along with or youth appropriate

Male 16 New Zealand Much of the merchandise was made in China. I didn't think that the catholic church would be using and supporting using sweatshops to make profits.

Male 15 United States Mother

Male 34 Australia most of the young people treated the week as a competition between countries, eg if you were American tthis seemed to give you power to step all over everyone else. the consumption of alcohol at the Vigil and rowdy behaviour.

Female 33 Australia more water, especially for children my kid's age that walked all day, slept out then walked home, train station closed more walking, both got VERY dehydrated.

Female 23 New Zealand missing my daughter back home

Female 27 Australia Might sound like a contradiction, but the first Catechesis was horrible for me. I was very down after it, but the second and third days were fantastic.

Female 20 United Kingdom Members of my group were particularly nasty during WYD

Female 23 Singapore meeting people who were un-catholic

Female 18 New Zealand masses definately did not appeal to youth. needed more youthful songs in particular!!!!!

Female 17 Australia Mass Services - long, boring, no young music

Female 15 Australia making a big effort to get to an event and then find that it wasn't on in the first place, just a typo in the program

177

Male 19 Malaysia make WYD last longer! Haha,cause I really enjoyed myself during WYD08. It was touching and somehow,it was kinda short but funfilled.

Female 14 New Zealand Mainly the colds and flus that broke loose in our small group throughout the entire trip :)

Male 54 Australia lost my son for three and a half hours on the Randwick vigil , no one could help us find him as he didn't have a phone there should be places for people to meet of those who get lost or seperated

Female 48 Australia Lost my camera and there was no real point to follow this up that is lost property it needed to be advertised

Female 27 United States lonliness - I was all alone

Female 58 Australia Live 'entertainment' was really BAD. It reduced the benefits of the spiritual aspect of WYD activities. Most inappropriate. Spiritual people don't need or want it. And the less spiritual can hardly be helped to become spiritual by it!!

Female 22 Australia litter everywhere

Male 29 United States lines for food were insane but even through that I grew

Male 17 United Kingdom liberal catholicim

Female 28 United States leaving large events untimely

Male 20 Australia Lay-directed elements of catechesis were somewhat unorthodox

Female 42 Australia LATIN

Female 27 American Samoa last minute changes of plan for my group, i just don't like that

Female 32 United States Language

Female 25 Australia Lack of sanitation in toilets - not cleaned often enough

Female 17 Australia Lack of running water at the final mass

Female 43 Australia lack of running water at Randwick

Male 27 Australia Lack of reverence during papal masses and stations

Female 49 Australia lack of public transport

Female 16 Australia lack of indoor showers

Male 22 Canada Lack of coordination/security for the placement of groups at the closing mass; merchandise far too expensive and profit-driven

Female 32 Australia Lack of communication/ change of plans at last minute e.g accomodation/ meetin gup for diocrsan meeting and not notified by group leader

Male 26 Australia Just the protestors at the park on the walk to randwick

178

Female 24 Kuwait Just emphasis that some travelled all the way just for a sightseeing experience thats all

Female 17 Australia just being terribly sick

Male 32 Philippines its too expensive...

Female 56 Australia It would be nice to have more modern music/liturgy at the Papal Mass something younger for the young.

Female 25 United States It went by too fast

Male 22 United States It wasn't for 18-35 year olds, as advertised.. Tons of pilgrims were below 18. Made me feel like a child myself. Not good. Please enforce the rules!!!

Male 29 Australia It wasn't a Catholic or religious event. It was just one big party. There was no serious spiritual development. The Catecheses, though entertaining, were not profound. This event has not changed my spiritual life in anyway.

Female 26 United Arab Emirates It was way tooooooo cold!!!!!

Male 40 Nigeria IT WAS VERY URGLY THE HOME OFFICE IN PRETORIA COULDNT GIVE MY GROUP VIISA TO ATTEND WHAT WOULD VE BEEN ONE OF MY MOST REMENBERED OUTING

Female 22 Singapore it was sad to see that most pilgrims littered especially at barangaroo.

Male 30 Pakistan IT WAS PERFACT

Female 33 Australia it was far too difficult to get out of events - made to walk large distances - our PP is older and has a sore leg so was very difficult for him to walk these distances - these things should be taken into account

Female 44 Australia It was difficult to take school groups and have parents accuse us of not having Duty of Care when the event provided no help and secuirty of where we were sleeping.

Female 17 Australia it was cold

Female 17 Australia it was 100%

Male 25 Iraq it is hard to young of Iraq to get visa on passport in Iraq to participate in WYD ... why just iraqi young ??!!!!

Male 25 Iraq it is hard to get visa for the young of Iraq to participate in the WYD

Female 29 Australia It felt like the whole event was focussed on the Pope rather than on Jesus. I didn't feel it was particulary spritiual, just a massive event. Almost like a concert with a celebrity.

Female 43 Philippines indifference that i experienced from the group that i joined, Juventutem

Female 20 United States inadequate bathroom facilities at Randwick

Female 25 Australia Inadequate access to talks/events for pilgrims staying in outer suburbs of Sydney: difficult to locate events, arrive too late to attend centralised events and too exhausting travelling such long distances – especially in large groups of youths.

179

Female 21 United Arab Emirates in my point of view there is nothing...maybe the clothes & WYD stuf was a little bit expensive..thats all..but this thing did NOT spoiled the experience for me ...

Male 36 Malaysia I'm now trying to get my refunds for those who were unable to attend. I am really upset that after the verbal ok to a full refund, they are even now saying that we cannot get any refund. I think the telephone operators passed on bad information and there was a time it was impossible to get through

Female 17 Australia illness

Male 20 Australia illness

Female 22 Ireland Illness

Female 27 Australia Ignorance of american bishops of world issues

Female 32 Australia If you wanted to see it all, you really couldnt, there was things that you did not want to miss out on but had to

Male 37 United Kingdom I wouldn't judge where the young people were at, but the singing and chanting of groups as they walked the streets was a little excessive and sometimes a bit of a counter-witness to those who were residents in Sydney. However, I realise that you can't always (and sometimes shouldn't) curb the nature ebullience of youth. A difficult call.

Female 30 South Africa I would like to emphasise that the attitude of those doing crowd control was rude and unhelpful. They did a huge disservice to the hospitality of the Australian people and it left a very sour aftertaste in my mouth about the whole event.

Female 26 Australia I would have preferred to have more time to discuss issues with priests in smaller groups, as it was difficult to ask questions in the very large catecheses groups.

Female 20 Canada I was shocked at the informalism of the church in Australia in general. The music was not impressive in parish churches. Most of the music in the lrge masses was ok. I was especially horrified at one parish, St. Mary's in Brisbane. I would not have known it was a catholic church unless someone had told me, and I did not receive holy Communion there because I didn't know if the consecration was valid.

Female 26 United States I was sent on a 7 hour odessey to a far suburb to pick up the pilgrim backpacks and passes--- and missed the Opening Mass!!!

Female 28 Australia I was resolved of my sins during confession

Female 25 Singapore I was not very happy with the food provided for lunch and dinner. But in no way did it spoilt my WYD experience.

Female 36 Pakistan I WAS NOT THERE

Female 16 Australia I was in a group that was too large (I lead a group for some of the time and joined a group for the rest) the group I joined was too large and isolating many times I felt so alone!

180

Male 45 United States I was disgusted with the fact that the Australians before every event persistently gave recognition to the aboriginal people of Australia as if they are more important than anyone else just because they were in that land first. Additionally, I did not see one Aboriginal person from Australia (let alone the whole race of people) give any gratitude or mention to the Catholic Church for coming to Australia to give them the christian faith. I appreciate their music somewhat but they were way too overbearing at the Hyde Park events.

Male 20 Australia I was beeg called a dag every time a spoke a word and was told to shut up by my fellow pilgrim which I dint really care about.

Female 30 Australia I was an actor in the Stations of the Cross and it was the most awful and regretable experience ever - I see how low some people of the Latin Catholic Church place me, I felt verbally, emotionally and mentally abused. I felt worthless. I felt like months of negativity in preparation (from the WYD organising staff and director preist) severly ruined my WYD experience. I felt dispensable and they only needed me as an actor with brown hair and brown eyes with no spiritual support, nourishment or care. I would not willingly liek to see any people again that were involved in staging the Station

Female 26 Australia I was a Homestay coordinator and the two groups allocated to me did not arrive. It caused a lot of disappointment in my parish, one angry homestay applicant who told me she found me unprofessional and

Female 21 United States I was a group leader within my group and I am 20 years old but I was made to stay and hold the hands of my group members instead of being able to go meet others and really getting to experience everything to the fullest extent.

Male 18 Australia I voluntarily participated in the WYD Choir, as well as being a registered pilgrim. However, as a chorister, not only did I have to attend a ridiculously full rehearsal schedule, but these rehearsals meant that I was unable to participate in ANY of the WYD events. Even more infuriatingly, these much of this rehearsal time was spent merely sitting waiting for something to happen, whilst we could hear the events going on outside the various precincts. For me, being in the WYD Choir absolutely ruined my WYD experience.

Female 25 Australia I think that even though Australia was a great place for World Youth Day and I am absolutely delighted that we had it, I fear that some parts were geared for the 'lowest common denominator' and that there were many 'lame' or 'cheesy' elements to the actual celebrations there. I saw the Stations of the Cross on TV and this was profound and beautiful...Australia is very creative and artistic, and this was a good expression of who we are and what we are all about, but I feel that some of the other events (the Vigil Concert for instance), left a really bad taste in my mouth and that some school g

Male 45 New Zealand I think some privacy between the sexes at accommodation would have helped

Female 25 Australia I spoke to priests about my questions and unfortunately the answers have left me pretty devestated. I'm scared I'm going to hell and I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it.

Female 33 Australia I spent most of the week in bed ill, plus our Preist/Leader was too controlling of the group, didn't let us 'experience' what we wanted, not free time, were told what we should feel - this spoilt the event for me and my co-pilgrams

181

Male 35 Australia i should not be charged 200 go to mass but i was able entered anyway without paying that ridiculous greed to yours organisation

Male 59 Australia I missed a lot of events I would have liked to go to. There was not enough time and I was busy arranging things in the parish or was at another event happening at the same time.

Male 22 Nigeria i met with all the demands to be in the WYD but i was refused entry clearance at the australian high commission, but some of my members that i registered got thier clearance.

Female 26 China I hope that I can receive the content of the Mass especially the talk of the Pope before the Mass or after the mass,it was really difficult for me to understand it clearly,because I am not an English speaker,I speak mandarinand and my listenning is not very good.There's no problem in reading,but I met great difficult in listenning.I know there are few Chinese taking part in the WYD,but it was a really difficulty for me.

Female 60 Australia I had to leave the Vigil at Randwick because of illness caused by the dust.

Female 20 United States i had a lot of problems registering to be in a group with my cousins who live in australia, and my sister and I were from the US and no one seemed to have an answer to what the best way to register was: in our own group? in the parish group? as independants?

Female 16 Australia I got sick

Female 16 Australia i found that everything was fine.. nothing was wrong.. i loved all of it!

Female 28 Australia I found it very difficult to hear and understand the Pope. He has a strong accent and acoustics at events (eg. Randwick) were poor, I could not hear and follow what he was saying

Male 19 New Zealand i find that the old fashioned Catholicism is important to keep very alive as it is apart of our tradition and to lose this would be to forget who we are and where we have come from. further more i think that there was not enough credit given to young people in the respect that we can keep up and follow speeches/homilies given by the Pope and Bishops. To try and lower the intellect of the homilies or speeches would produce a dumbing down effect

Female 37 Philippines I find most of the Aussies as blunt / not friendly and the food for the participants are not innovative

Female 48 Australia I felt unsafe sleeping at Randwick as people were walking in between the sleeping bags and I was concerned that we may have our heads stomped on!

Male 24 United Kingdom I felt the catechesis, while not terrible, was pretty uninspired at times.

Female 24 United States I felt that there were not enough people in their 20's for me to get to know. I felt very old, even being just 23.

Female 43 New Zealand I felt really upset especially during the stations of the cross that other groups around me were talking and laughing. This must have been what our Lord and the disciples experienced.

Female 38 New Zealand I felt quite clostraphobic at times, especially when arriving at Barangaroo for the first time, i had to find a way to deal with my feelings, prayer helped me a little, though I don't feel I was altogether successful in my coping.

182

Female 17 Philippines I felt like it was more of a social event than a religious one.

Female 38 Malaysia I fell sick during the pilgrimage walk, but it was not serious and didn't spoil my experience too much. There were so many activities happening at the same time, and I didn't participate in as many as I had hoped too, but I still had a wonderful experience at the WYD.

Male 22 Australia I enjoyed it throughly I think just paying for the ticket to Syndney was a bit hard but apart from that it was all very good :)

Female 17 Australia I enjoyed everything. It was the perfect experience! Thankyou!

Female 30 Australia I don't think the event catered for all Catholics - some of the expereinces of people I met in the preparation for WYD were very hurtful and seemed to me to be opposite to the words being spoken by the WYD office and the Catholic Church. These things coloured the event for me

Male 18 Australia I don't think that the WYD coordinators realised that rock concerts were not necessary and certainly weren't beneficial to the spirituality of the youth. I know of others who have the same opinion and Pope Benedict XVI is also against rock music.

Female 17 Australia i didnt see life teen perform although saw something else very entertaining would have been nice to see life teen as i go to a life teen parish

Female 24 Australia i did not enjoy being the one prpearing the catchesis. i would have rather just watched and taken it all in.

Female 19 Canada I definitwly got to see some scary deviations from the true Catholic churhc's teachings... in short it did not focus enough on Reverence which is a very important part of our faith that I think is lacking. Some examples include the priests giving Communion to individuals who were PASSING THE BODY OF CHRIST OUT TO OTHER PEOPLE THEMSELVES!!! Another instance is the use of churches for the catechesis sites... this is not a meeting place! The love of God is a wonderful thing that must be emphasized but we must also be aware of the other parts that we must adhere to/

Female 18 Argentina I couldn't find any catholic gifts for my family

Female 52 United States I can't really say that anything significantly spoiled the event for me. I found the entire event wonderful!

Female 26 China I am not an English speaker, I am from China, and my English is not good enough to understanding all the speaks in the Mass,infact reading is much more easy for me.So I do hope to receive the written contents of the Pope and the bishops bofore or after the Mass,so that I can understand all.This is really a big problem for us.

Male 28 Australia I am friends with the Perth co-coordinator for WYD. As I was walking to the opening mass I ran into her. She was excited that she had a special ‘pass’ to receive the blessed sacrament from Pell. It was interesting that in his address he said that he most welcomed those that were furtherest from the church. Of course, the cardinals didn’t welcome the youth enough to walk among them distributing communion. They needed special passes for this privilege. It was the volunteers on the other hand who were the outreach of the church. What spoiled WYD for me was the aloofness of the upper echelons of

Male 34 Australia hypocrisy of some people participating

183

Male 31 Nigeria HOW TO PAY MY GROUP'S REGISTRATION FEE FROM NIGERIA

Female 37 Australia how some people prior the WYD week complained about the choice of music being classical etc. which was untrue and an opinion that blocks out the true beauty of life. Beautiful music is timeless there is no age on music that speaks to the soul.

Male 21 Australia How I had to listen to Aboriginal style mass at the Darling Harbour Catechesis.

Female 32 Australia Horrific flight delays in getting to Sydney - very stressful

Female 36 Australia High dependence on me as leader of family group

Female 31 Australia Harvest Youth Tours handling of sleeping pack orders

Female 36 United States hard to find some catechesis locations, kids sleeping during closing Mass- they were tired, but took away from all of us sharing together.

Female 43 Australia 'happy clapping' catechis sessions that both I and my 11 year old duaghter didn't appreciate; my daughter became seperated in a crowd due to the blocking off of access routes within the Domian prior tot he papal arrival. Both of us were distressed and frightened by the experince in such a big crowd and it could have been prevented. My dughter was found due to teh fantastic assistance of the WYD volunteer who helped me find her.

Female 22 Australia group rules

Male 31 United States Group never met each other until we were delayed in the airport.

Female 18 Australia group leaders were more dictators, and had not planned the time and did not stick to the schedule effectively, made some aspects of wyd a waste of time

Female 44 New Zealand Group Leader's attitude

Male 29 Ireland group leaders

Male 20 Canada group acting too much like tourists when it's a pilgrimage.

Male 25 Sudan GOT NEW PEOPLE AND THE BEST MISSION

Female 46 Australia Got a chest infection & alot of pain in my knees with walking.

Female 23 Philippines giving away of anti-Catholic/Christian paraphernalia, seeing offending photos of the Pope in a magazine at a convenience store

Female 17 United States getting separated from my small group for a whole day

Female 16 Australia friends, within the group, not taking it seriously as I did.

Female 17 Philippines friends who were too focused in meeting boys rather than God

184

Male 21 United States 'Free Hugs'

Female 25 Australia free hugs

Male 29 Australia free hugs

Male 24 Australia free hugs

Male 20 Australia Free hugs

Male 46 United States Fr. Leo introduced our morning catechetical sessions and was truly awful. He was more interested in selling himself and his book than in sharing the power of the Gospel. I felt the Bishops did a fine job, but there catechetical talks were somehow undermined by Leo's self- promotion. I felt like I was being hustled by a snake oil salesman and his condescending and self-prmotional antics were embarassing and downright nauseating.

Male 46 United States FR LEO WAS A HUCKSTER WHO MINIIZED THE GOSPEL, MAXIMIZED HIMSELF AND TRIED TO SELL HIS BOOK TO A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE. HE WORE THIN FAST, AND WAS JUST A POOR MESSSENGER OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN HIMSELF.

Female 21 Philippines Food.

Male 19 Australia FOOD!

Male 20 United States Food would always run out.

Female 17 Australia food was way below standard and it wasn't even of a human standard.

Female 17 Australia food was shocking and not adequate vegetarian meals

Female 23 Australia food was ok on the first few days but then got very repeatitive

Male 19 Australia FOOD WAS BAD... STATIONS OF THE CROSS WAS LOG AND BORING

Female 60 Canada food was bad

Female 15 United States Food was BAD

Female 34 Croatia/Hrvatska Food that was provided for us wasn't atable at most times. Different good things happening in the same time or far so it was hard to attend things that maybe would be better than the ones I attended. For most different things I didn't know what were there about and who were the people who were preparing it.

Male 17 Australia Food suplied was not verry nice

Male 46 Pakistan food stuff for lunch and dinner was not provided as expectation of international WYD-specially meat, wbich did not attractive many.

Female 19 Australia Food situation as I was allergic to many of the ingredients in the dinners and thus couldn't eat one dinner despite having paid for the meals in the package

Female 57 Australia Food ran out and as a leader we were having to buy food to feed the hungry teenagers!

185

Female 35 Australia Food queues were ridiculous. Also, changing the times and venues of lunch availablility on the day of teh opening mass meant that our group of 35 missed lunch altogether.

Female 50 Australia food options not good - a bun and tin of tuna a bit too basic

Female 45 United States food lines long and people were pushing; no control

Male 36 Australia Food are the same every day

Female 19 United States food always the same

Female 18 Philippines food

Male 24 United States food

Female 17 Australia Food

Female 19 Australia food

Female 19 Canada food

Male 26 Canada Food

Male 22 France far to expensive

Male 33 Australia failure to promote the 'fringe events' - some events were discouraged or eliminated from religious order programs by the WYD office and the flyer with extra events was not available to all participants

Female 18 Australia Exits being blocked off that were right next to where we need to go, we had to do almost a full circle to get there!

Male 16 New Zealand Excessive Litter, but it did not ruin the experience.

Female 30 Australia evertyhing was perfect

Male 16 Australia ended to soon

Female 37 Australia EGERIA was a nightmare, there was a distinct lack of assistance from Sydney HQ for planning Days in the Diocese, and no time to really be listened to by top people in HQ or share resources in the agenda of the DYM preparartion meetings

Female 17 Australia During the last night in Ranwick, there was a group of young people next to us who were talking about inapropriet topics and using bad language. It spoilt the mood for me.

Male 17 United States drama

Female 31 Poland distribution of food at mass events could be improved

Female 31 Poland dISTRIBTION OF FOOD COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER ORGANISED

Female 19 Australia disrespectful people

Male 60 United States disrespect of members

Male 21 United States Disorganization of my particular travel group.

186

Female 43 Australia dinner destinations were located very far away from our event so people seemed to stay where the food was

Female 27 Australia Difficulty with travel and changes to the schedule that were not communicated, together with the fact that I was not permitted to leave my group, meant that I missed nearly all the workshops and talks that interested me

Male 25 Australia Differences within the group

Female 60 Australia Didn't have any such experience

Male 14 Australia Did not really spoil my experience, but trying to register and get tickets was hard

Female 16 United States did not get to pick eents that I attended

Male 34 United States devestating heartbreak

Female 23 Malaysia Could not spend more time with my host family as we had to get up early to attend events and then return late after the events.

Female 23 India Coordinating things for my group meant i couldnt visit/ do things i really wanted to

Male 23 India Controlling the group by group leader’s

Male 32 United Arab Emirates consulate in dubai refused my visa so iwas not able to travel australia

Male 28 Australia Communion at the final mass was disgracefully handled by the organisers and felt as if despite all the church had done, they had failed to produce the most important part, communion without frustration and with a sense of patience andd grace. People fighting to get through crowds to one or two hosts and having to jump railings was the worst aspect of all wyd, it was the first time in my life that i was disappointed with the efforts of the church. If the church cannot be responsible for the protection and isuuing of communion it lacks a fundamental qualification of its authority. It was the

Male 60 United States communication with group

Female 37 New Zealand comments on catecheses is noted down in previous question.

Female 31 Australia collection of food a little chaotic and not so well orgainised at Barangaroo unfortunately

Female 18 Argentina Cold weather

Female 48 Canada cold weather

Male 29 Canada Closing of 'tracks' at Randwick keeping me from my group

Female 16 Australia Close friends that, to my surprise, didn't take the experience seriously and ruined my experience in the process.

Male 17 United States Christian Rock

Female 23 Australia Chaotic Sydney city, unfriendly locals, group issues/conflicts

187

Female 19 United States Changing the 'Our Father' at mass!!

Female 50 Canada certain people in our group caused negativity and stress

Female 43 Philippines cathechetical sites are far from the city, you consume your travelling going to and fro

Female 44 United States Catechisis site changed the morning of and also we didn't get everything in our backpacks. We were shorted a lot...

Male 25 Australia Catechesis was very shallow and didnt cater for all age groups.

Male 17 Australia catechesis sessions were often irrelevant to me

Male 42 Australia By the time of the WYD Mass, I was exhausted fropm being a group leader. having to be up before everyone, and bed after everyne was tiring. Very enjoyable - but too tiring to enjoy teh vigil and mass.

Male 38 Guam bussing schedules

Female 27 New Zealand Buses to our accomodation (Baulkham hills) repeatedly refusing to let us board to go to catechesis, or worse, home from the city at night.

Female 17 Australia Bishops views on other Christian groups

Male 54 Australia Bishops only delivering catechesis, use other quality speakers

Female 20 Australia Bishops not adhering to church teachings in catechesis

Male 55 United States biggest challenge was the shortage of showers at our college. We were forced to get up way early in the morning to ensure showering and being ready on time to start the day.

Male 40 New Zealand big crowds

Female 29 New Zealand being ordered around like a child and forced to attend reconciliation by group leader

Female 30 New Zealand Being 'locked' out of venues e.g. Barangaroo. Food access was very difficult - waited 2 hours once only to be told there was none left.

Female 20 Australia being attached to a group who weren't welcoming and accepting who got drunk and didn't understand WYD at all.

Male 28 United Kingdom Being airsick on the journey home but Father Kevin Hennessey took care of me.

Male 32 Australia Behaviour of taxi drivers in Sydney was rude.

Male 18 Australia BE WOKEN UP ON VIGIL NIGHT BY NOISY CROWD AT 3AM

Female 24 Australia be clossto God

Male 60 Ireland badly organised registration - long queues

188

Female 27 Australia badly organised disability access to the final mass - volunteers were unable to tell us the right way to go and we had to walk almost a kilometer

Female 54 Australia badlt organized exit of crowd from Randwick

Female 18 Australia bad food, no variety, couldnt form a group of 6 somedays...

Male 16 New Zealand Australian Guys

Male 45 Canada Attitude of Sydneysiders

Female 29 United States At the Barangaroo sight, public transportation was unavailable. If it was available, uneasy to find.

Female 53 United States As wonderful as it was having so many people from all over the world there, many of them having flags up in the air blocked the sight of the big screens for those of us relegated to the back of the crowds, making it difficult to see what was going on and to feel a part of it.

Female 60 New Zealand As they couldn't find our registration we were alloted to one of the most distant areas at Randwick where we could only see the Mass in the far distance and where we could only see part of one of the huge scenes at an angle but where we did have a close up view of one of the toilet blocks with queues of people in front of it throughout the Mass(and for some of the time most of the cublicles were blocked in it). We also felt disappointed that because we hadn't been staying at Randwick for the Vigil Mass we could not get the breakfast we had paid for when we arrived in the morning and that we o

Male 51 Australia As a volunteer it was the team leaders and supervisors that were from the Sydney area who had no idea in communication with large groupsand radio protocol. There man management was for many non existant. Volunteers who had all the necessary skills were not considered for these roles because the could not attend a training couple of hours two weeks before the event.

Female 47 New Zealand As a leader I did not recieve a a copy of the activities for the youth festivals

Female 57 Australia As a guide for our Parish Youth Group, I felt that it was a lot of hard work. I 'knocked off work to carry bricks'. I took a week of my annual leave and my work at WYD was more challenging than my usual job. Nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed serving the parish youth and was encouraged by their faith and liveliness of spirit. The group was well-behaved and co-operative, but it was difficult at times when some individuals within the group would stray as something else grabbed their attention, making 'contracts' to return to a certain place & time left undone. On the whole the group was enthu

Female 44 United States As a group leader, dealing with youth who were very homesick and not used to being on their own...forgetting to bring water and snacks for themselves, etc.

Male 59 United States As a group leader I did not know where we were going to stay until the day we left home.

Male 20 Canada Arriving at Randwick having a large group take up an entire section even though their tags listed them in another section.

Male 26 New Zealand Anti-Catholics & those who were trying to get young people away from Jesus and the Catholic Faith.

189

Female 16 Cayman Islands All the early starts and late nights made me and a few others very tired and i almost fell asleep in some if the masses

Male 16 Australia all good

Male 18 United Kingdom All a bit too spread out - events and community was not centrall-focused

Female 38 Barbados Airfare was too high to Sydney by the airlines. I saw that one week after cost of travel was less that half the cost, in somecases lesss that one third

Female 59 New Zealand age of 11-17 were'nt able to accomodate with parent within the arrangement in Australian system, I thought was a bit lack in some consideration as there is an adult or parent who accompanying the young one

Female 17 Australia afterwards i came down with a very very serious illness, that i suppose detracted from the week quite a bit

Male 48 Canada Accreditation was a nightmare, waste of time, invasive, spoiled 2 days of the trip and 2 days before the trip, The contract for performers that made us surrender the copyright of our songs.

Female 39 Australia Accreditation process

Female 38 Australia Accreditation

Male 26 Indonesia a very noisy convoy during the vigil when there are pilgrims really need to sleep

Female 16 Australia A total CREEP who I hardly knew asked me out on the day of the Vigil - TOTALLY ruined everything! I felt really sick and missed EVERYTHING. AND it was my birthday - my 16th - and he RUINED it!!! JERK!!!

Male 31 Australia a supposed staff member (surname Hanna - not Jim!) said was aggressive when I tried to enter the Volunteer rest area to get a straw for a disabled person I was helping - Hanna even threatened to call the police and was very rude.

Female 19 United States A Police Officer Confronted me and my friend about our religious beliefs and while it partially spoiled our experience during the adoration with the pope, it also helped strenghen our faith and pride in our religion.

Male 36 Canada A part of Randwick was very dusty.

Female 39 Australia A minor falling out with a fellow group leader over excessive supervision of group.

Female 24 Philippines a lot of food was wasted. hopefully all the unopened canned goods or bread shouldve been given to the needy

Female 29 Australia A lack of consideration by my group for the whole group. This spoiled WYD for me.

Female 22 Australia a friend

Female 59 Australia A few people in my group who were there for the wrong reason they were only interested in shopping and having a holiday. this is the only bad experience but have to check two more questions which are not true to be able to move further with the survey.

190

Male 45 Australia A few of my group were very unpleasant... although even they benefited so I think it was still worth doing to help them grow (they entered into the spirit at other times)

Female 31 Australia A Catholic friend told us we were not allowed to take Holy Communion because we were Anglican, which deeply hurt us

Female 24 United States 2 people in my group distracted me from prayer and I did not get to really pray during the Stations of the Cross. I wish leaders would keep everyone quite during prayer and if some don't want to be at the event should say so and do something else.

Male 25 Australia 2 out of the three bishops spoke to us in catecheses as though we were very stupid. They used patronising, emotional cliche's instead of respecting our intelligence the way that Cardinal Pell and the Pope did

Male 26 Australia 1. a lot of happy make me feel good events

Female 21 Australia nothing did i liked the whole experience

Female 16 United States my mom nagging

Female 23 United Kingdom DAYS in the Diocese was not very spiritual at all. It was aimed at a much younger audience. The 'focus' was this board that we wrote stuff on - instead of the Blessed Sacrament

Male 31 Australia At times I found too much of a charismatic current running through the event and a feeling that traditional catholicism is irrelevant to today’s young people.

191