” “At the WYD in Cologne you can ask for coffee or for directions on how to reach a church or the post office without knowing a word of German or of any other language. To communicate without words the organizers have given the young pilgrims a card with coloured icons of objects, symbols and possible situations, that they can point to so as to be understood beyond language differences. This is one of the most unusual items contained in the sky blue and dark blue backpacks that are distributed to the young pilgrims and that are now being seen in increasing numbers. Besides advertising leaflets, maps of the town and various other printed materials, the backpack also contains a red scarf, a small coloured rosary, the Pilgrim’s Guide in Italian, French, English, German and Spanish with a full programme of all the events, a bottle of water, plastic cutlery and other gadgets. And a backpack is also given to the journalists, many of whom have already arrived at the WYD press office some 7,500 have been accredited where they have found they have free access to 180 computers and telephones.
