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

联合国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 2018

2018年4月23日

On 23 April 1616, two giants of world literature died, two precursors whose work would revolutionize the way fiction was conceived and written: Cervantes and Shakespeare. This coincidence is why 16 April was chosen to be World Book and Copyright Day.

1616年4月23日，塞万提斯和莎士比亚，两位世界文学巨匠同一天与世长辞。这两位先驱者的作品，使文学创作的方法和观念发生了革命性变化。选择这个日期作为世界图书和版权日，正源于这样一个巧合。

When we celebrate books, we celebrate activities – writing, reading, translating, publishing – which help individuals to raise and fulfil themselves; and we celebrate, in a fundamental way, the freedoms that make them possible. Books are at the intersection of some of the most essential human freedoms, primarily freedom of expression and freedom to publish. These are fragile freedoms. Faced by many challenges, from the questioning of copyright and cultural diversity to the physical threats looming over authors, journalists and publishers in many countries, these freedoms are also denied, even today, when schools are attacked, and manuscripts and books destroyed.

礼赞图书，就是礼赞人类得以自我升华、自我实现的写作、阅读、翻译、出版活动，归根结底也就是要礼赞使这一切成为可能的人类所享有的各种自由。图书处于人类各种基本自由的交汇点，其中位居前列的是表达自由和出版自由。这些自由是脆弱的，面临着诸多挑战，其中包括著作权和文化多样性被质疑，也包括作者、记者和出版人在很多国家面临人身威胁。直至今日，当学校被袭击、手稿和书籍被毁坏时，遭到否认的也正是这些自由权利。

It is our duty then, everywhere in the world, to protect these freedoms and to promote reading and writing in order to fight illiteracy and poverty and to strengthen the foundations of peace, as well as to protect the publishing-related professions and professionals.

无论在世界何处，我们都必须保护这些权利、推广阅读和书写，从而推动扫盲和消除贫困工作、巩固和平的基石，也必须保护和重视图书行业及其从业人员。

UNESCO, in partnership with the International Publishers Association (IPA) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), supports, for instance, the action of publishers, which deserves due recognition and protection, since the movement of written works is an essential contribution to freedom of expression, public debate and dialogue. It was with this in mind that the IPA established its Prix Voltaire, which every year honours the courage of publishers who refuse to stay silent and who enable authors to exercise their freedom of expression.

为此，教科文组织与国际出版商协会和国际图书馆协会联合会共同合作，开展了诸如支持出版人的行动，出版人的自由应该得到保护，他们的工作价值也应该得到恰当的承认，因为书籍作品的流通，对表达自由、公共辩论和对话具有重要的推动作用。本着这种精神，国际出版商协会创设了伏尔泰奖，每年表彰勇于担责发声、推动作者们充分行使表达自由权利的出版人。

Athens was designated World Book Capital 2018 in recognition of the quality of its programmes to support the publishing sector, which have facilitated access to books for the population as a whole, and for migrants and refugees in particular.

雅典被指定为2018“世界图书之都”，因为它所开展的高质量的图书支持计划，为全体市民尤其是移民和难民获取图书创造了便利。

With Athens and the entire international community, let us join together to celebrate books, which embody creativity, enable ideas and knowledge to be shared across borders, and strengthen mutual understanding and dialogue.

让我们与雅典和整个国际社会一道，共同礼赞代表着创造力的图书，它让我们得以跨越疆界分享思想和知识，加强相互理解和对话。