Message from Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of World Book and Copyright Day

教科文组织总干事奥德蕾·阿祖莱世界图书和版权日致辞

23 April 2021

2021年4月23日

In this period of uncertainty, many people are turning to books to help them escape lockdown and cope with anxiety.

在这个不确定的时期，很多人纷纷拿起书籍，投入阅读，以应对禁足隔离，缓解内心焦虑。

Indeed, books have the unique ability both to entertain and to teach. They are a means of exploring realms beyond our personal experience through exposure to different authors, ideas and cultures. They are a means of accessing the deepest places in our minds. Page by page, books light a path for us to roam, unbound by time or borders. In other words, books give us freedom.

的确，书籍具有娱乐和教育的独特作用。书籍是一种媒介，可以让我们走出自我，与不同的作者、思想和文化相遇；也可以让我们沉入内心，深思冥想。书籍带我们在人类精神世界里遨游，享受摆脱时空限制的自由。

It is the power of books that we all need right now, as we are reminded of the fundamental importance of literature – as well as the arts – in our lives.

在当下阶段，我们所有人都需要书籍的这种力量，因为我们铭记在心的是，文学和艺术在我们的生活中十分重要。

In celebrating books, we are also celebrating their authors, who provide us with snippets of life and insights into other realities. They open a window onto the world – more precisely, a window onto other worlds and other forms of existence. And for this reason, every year on 23 April – the day on which the honourable authors William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega passed away – we celebrate writers whose works have been captivating our imagination for centuries.

在礼赞书籍的同时，我们也要致敬书籍的作者们，是他们为我们分享了生命体验，揭示了不同现实空间，打开了通向世界的窗口，更准确地说，打开了通向其他世界和其他存在形式的窗口。正是出于这个原因，我们在4月23日开展世界图书和版权日活动，这一天也是享誉世界的大作家莎士比亚、塞万提斯和印卡·加西拉索·德拉维加的逝世纪念日，他们的作品数个世纪以来一直滋养着我们的想象力。

Today, we also pay homage to all the professions associated with books: editing, translation, publishing and book selling. These fields make it possible to disseminate our literary heritage, to allow for the expression of new ideas, and to enable the spread of stories.

值此世界图书和版权日，也让我们向所有与图书相关的从业者包括编辑、翻译、出版和图书销售人员致敬，是他们使文学遗产的传播成为可能，使新的思想得以表达，使各种故事流传于世。

These professions must be protected and their value acknowledged. This is all the more relevant in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which poses a deep and lasting threat to culture.

这些职业必须得到保护和重视。在冠状病毒病疫情期间更应如此，因为疫情对文化构成了深远且持久的威胁。

This is why UNESCO is supporting the work of publishers through undertakings such as its partnerships with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the International Publishers Association (IPA).

正因如此，教科文组织正在尤其通过与国际图书馆协会联合会和国际出版商协会开展伙伴关系等活动，大力支持出版人的工作。

The power of books must be fully harnessed. We must ensure their access so that everyone can take refuge in reading, and by doing so, be able to dream, learn and reflect. This is the significance of the commitment made by Tbilisi, Georgia, which becomes the 2021 World Book Capital on 23 April. UNESCO designated this city because of its focus on the use of modern technologies to promote reading among young people. Their programme “Ok. So your next book is…?” has worked to transform books into digital games and helped ensure access to all.

必须充分发挥书籍的力量。为此我们应该确保书籍获取，从而使每个人都能通过阅读有所寄托、体验梦想、学习知识并开展思考。这就是第比利斯（格鲁吉亚）承诺的意义所在，教科文组织之所以指定第比利斯自今年4月23日起成为2021年世界图书之都，是因为这座城市专注于利用现代技术促进青年阅读计划。该项计划名为“那么，你的下一本书是……？”，致力于将书籍转变为数字游戏，并助力确保所有人都能获取所需书籍。

At a time when reading is invaluable, the importance of our commitment to integration, education and peace in and through reading becomes crystal clear.

在阅读如此值得珍视的当下时期，我们对在阅读中并通过阅读促进融入、教育与和平的承诺凸显出其全部重要价值。

For this year’s edition of World Book and Copyright Day, I therefore encourage each and every one of you to pick up a book, start turning its pages, and draw from it a breath of fresh air, which will help sustain you now and in the future.

因此，值此世界图书和版权日，我邀请大家拿起一本书，翻开书页，从中获取面对现在和未来的力量。