.- World Youth Day (WYD) Madrid has opened four more language-specific pages on Facebook, bringing its total Facebook pages to 18. The pages were created thanks to young volunteers who see the importance of having WYD information available in their own language.
Japanese, Vietnamese, Maltese and Croatian are the latest languages to have WYD outposts on Facebook. World Youth Day Madrid organizers credited the pages to “the determination and the excitement of the youth.”
Tran The Vinh, one of the administrators of the Vietnamese-language Facebook page, first suggested the creation of a page in her language. She said she believes the page is important because it overcomes “the obstacle of speaking in a language other than your own.”
Vinh, a 23-year-old architecture student, spends three to five hours daily administrating WYD’s profile, with the help of other administrators. She answers questions form page subscribers, translates information coming from Spain and promotes WYD.
Viktorija, an education student at the University of Zagreb, is one of the four administrators of the Croatian WYD page. She said the WYD Facebook page serves as a place where youth can resolve their doubts or reunite and share their experiences.
A participant in previous WYD gatherings at Cologne and Sydney, Viktorija said her attendance at WYD Madrid will be “special” because it will mark the first time she will participate as a volunteer.
Ai Hongo, the 44-year-old administrator of the Japanese Facebook page, described herself as “young at heart.” In her view, videos are the best way to promote WYD because “they show in the best possible way what a day in WYD is like.”
The administrator of the Maltese WYD Facebook page is Mariam de Giorgio. She said she felt that the Madrid event will be “one of the most unforgettable WYDs ever,” in part because she will have the opportunity to meet in person the various friends she has made through social networks.
According to WYD Madrid, Spanish was the first language to have a WYD Facebook page, followed by English, French and Chinese.
Links to the WYD Madrid Facebook pages are available at the event website, http://www.madrid11.com
