Message from Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of International Literacy Day
教科文组织总干事奥德蕾·阿祖莱国际扫盲日致辞
8 September 2020
2020年9月8日
In celebrating International Literacy Day, we recall the fundamental right of everyone to develop the basic skills to read the world and write its future.
值此国际扫盲日，让我们再次关注每个人通过开发基本技能以阅读世界和书写自己未来的这项基本权利。
“Literacy”, said Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, “is the key to delivering the potential of every human being; the key to opening up a future of freedom and hope.”
正如联合国前秘书长科菲·安南所说，“扫盲是释放每个人的潜能的关键所在，也是通往充满自由和希望的世界的关键所在。”
However, despite UNESCO’s continued commitment, historic literacy campaigns, national investment and the immense progress made by the majority of countries, despite the tenacity of all those who work daily for literacy, too many children, adolescents and adults are still deprived of this right.
但是，尽管教科文组织作出了不懈努力，尽管开展了具有历史意义的扫盲运动，尽管有国家层面的投入并且大多数国家取得了巨大进步，尽管所有从事日常扫盲工作的人们都持之以恒不断努力，仍然有太多的儿童、青少年和成年人被剥夺了这项基本权利。
Some 617 million young people have not mastered basic literacy and numeracy skills – yet many of them are in school. There are a further 773 million illiterate adults, who are too often left behind. We must therefore redouble our efforts for these 1.4 billion people.
例如，有6.17亿青少年没有掌握阅读和算术的基本知识，而他们中许多人还是在校就读的学生。此外，还有7.73亿成年人，他们往往被弃之不顾。为了这将近14亿人，我们需要加倍努力。
This is all the more necessary as the educational crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has jeopardized the progress made in recent decades.
由于COVID-19大流行引发的教育危机已危及到近几十年所取得的进步，更有必要加倍努力采取行动。
To overcome its consequences and continue to move forward, we need to focus on those who are on the front line: educators. We have seen their dedication during this unprecedented situation, but we have also witnessed their insecurity and deprivation, since the daily work of teaching literacy, however essential it is, receives too little recognition and support.
为摆脱危机的影响并继续取得进步，我们需要针对处在一线的教育工作者开展行动。我们见证了他们为应对这一史无前例的局势作出了怎样的奉献，也看到了他们所面临的不稳定和窘迫困境。因为日常扫盲工作虽然具有根本性意义，却很少得到认可和支持。
The first challenge is therefore to ensure that educators everywhere in the world are able to carry out their work under good conditions: by increasing their numbers to meet needs, by paying them fairly and by providing them with job stability.
因此，首要问题是确保世界各地的教育工作者能够在良好的条件下开展工作：增加其人员数额以满足教育需求，公平支付其薪酬，并确保其就业稳定。
We also need to empower them, however, by training them and supporting them throughout their practice. They must be able to benefit from proven educational methods that aim to tackle the inequalities linked to age, gender or specific vulnerabilities.
但是，我们也需要为他们提供采取行动的手段，尤其是通过开展培训活动并在其整个教育实践过程中不断给予支持。为此，应该让他们能够掌握行之有效的教学方法，这些教学方法有助于纠正与年龄、性别或特定脆弱性有关的不平等现象。
This support must continue throughout their practice to enable them to develop and adapt in all circumstances - particularly in the face of upheavals such as school closures. With two out of every three students in the world still unable to go back to school, widespread training of educators in distance education solutions is essential.
这种支持应该贯彻到他们的整个职业生涯之中，以便使他们得以实现自我发展，并且能够适应任何情况，包括应对诸如学校关闭等动荡局面。目前世界上仍有三分之二的学生无法返校上学，因此必须在远程教育方面对教育工作者开展广泛的培训。
This exceptional situation has revealed, in particular, the full potential of new technologies. While these tools cannot replace the transmission of knowledge by humans, they can nonetheless be valuable allies. We must support their development and make them accessible to all learners – this will be an important aspect of our reflection on the Futures of Education.
这种特殊情况尤其揭示出新技术所蕴含的全部潜力。这些工具当然不能取代由人类完成的知识传播，但它们可以发挥出提供宝贵支持的作用。我们应该支持这些工具的发展并使所有学习者都可以使用它们——这将是我们思考“教育的未来”的一个重点所在。
At a time when we need to reinvent a world of hope, literacy is more important than ever.
当我们需要重塑一个充满希望的世界时，扫盲问题比以往任何时候都更加重要。
On this International Day, I thus invite all those involved in education to redouble their investments and mobilize all their resources to unleash the potential of each individual in the service of a shared world.
因此，值此国际日，我吁请教育领域的所有行为者加大投入并调动所有资源，让每个人都释放出潜能，为共享的世界服务。

来源：联合国教科文组织 日期：2020年9月12日

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