联合国秘书长潘基文2012年国际扫盲日致辞（中英版）

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国际扫盲日致辞

8 September, 2012

2012年9月8日

Literacy provides tools for men and women to better understand the world and shape it to meet their aspirations.  It is a source of individual dignity and a motor for the healthy development of society.  International Literacy Day is an opportunity to celebrate this transformative force and mobilize to make the most of it.

　　识字是男子和妇女更好地了解世界并按照其愿望改造世界的工具。识字是个人尊严的源泉和社会健康发展的动力。国际扫盲日是庆祝这一变革力量并促使其发挥最大效益的契机。

Great strides have been made during the United Nations Literacy Decade that closes this year.  Across the world, individuals, communities and countries have reached out to children, youth and adults to enable them to read, write and transform their lives.  As a result, some 90 million young men and women and adults have become literate.

　　今年是联合国扫盲十年的最后一年；在这十年间已经取得了巨大进步。世界各地的个人、社区和国家面向儿童、青年和成人开展工作，使他们能够读书写字并改变其生活，结果使约9 000万男女青年和成人摆脱了文盲。

We must now go much further.  An estimated 775 million young people and adults around the world still cannot read or write; 122 million children of primary and lower secondary school age remain out of school; and millions still graduate with inadequate literacy skills.  Women account for two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.  The persistence of such numbers hobbles our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to build the inclusive knowledge societies we need for the twenty-first century.

　　现在，我们必须要再接再厉。据估计，全世界有7.75亿年轻人和成年人仍然不会读书或写字，1.22亿小学和初中学龄儿童仍未就学，还有成百上千万毕业生没有足够的识字能力。妇女占世界文盲人口的三分之二。这些顽固的数字，阻碍着我们实现千年发展目标并建立21世纪所需的包容性知识社会的努力。

We must move faster to reach the most marginalized and uphold this basic human right.  The global movement for education needs a big push.  That is why, later this month, I will be launching a new Education First initiative.

　　我们必须加快对最边缘化的人口开展工作，贯彻这一基本人权。全球教育运动需要得到有力的推动。因此，我将在本月晚些时候发起一个“教育为先”的新倡议。

The initiative focuses on three priorities:  putting every child in school; improving the quality of learning; and fostering global citizenship.  I call on world leaders and all involved with education to join this initiative.  The cost of leaving millions of children and young people on the margins of society is far greater than the funds required to reach the international goals for education.

　　这项倡议主要有三个优先事项：让每个孩子就学；提高学习质量；培养全球公民精神。我呼吁世界各国领导人和所有教育工作者加入这一倡议。使数以百万计儿童和青少年在社会边缘落伍的成本，远远大于实现国际教育目标所需要的资金。

Ask any parent what they want for their children, even in war zones and disaster areas where food, medicine and shelter might be considered the highest priorities, and the answer is the same: education for children.  Ask any child what he or she wishes to be when they grow up, and the answer is rooted in education.  Education is the gateway to fulfilling those aspirations.

　　问问任何父母想为他们的孩子要点什么，即使是在食品、医药和住所可能被认为是最高优先事项的战争地区和受灾地区，得到的答复都是“儿童教育”。问问任何儿童长大想当什么，得到的答复都是基于教育。教育是通往实现这些愿望的大门。

A literate world is a more peaceful world, and a more harmonious and healthy world.  On this observance of International Literacy Day, let us pledge to join together to move the literacy agenda forward.