彭丽媛访美：联合国活动英文演讲谈教育

 　　联合国当地时间9月26日下午(北京时间27日上午)，中国国家主席习近平夫人彭丽媛一日之内，出席两场联合国活动，用全英文发表两场英文演讲，呼吁国际社会支持对女孩的教育以及对妇女、儿童和青少年生命健康的关注。

　　在纽约联合国总部举办的有关教育的高级别活动上英文致辞全文

　　Director-General Bokova

　　博科娃总干事

　　Ladies and gentlemen

　　女士们、先生们：

　　It gives me a great pleasure to join you for this important initiative as the UN marks its 70th anniversary。

　　在联合国纪念成立70周年之际，我很荣幸能够参加这一重要倡议的相关活动。

　　Education is very close in my heart. My father grew up in a very small village in China. In those days， not many villagers could read. So my father opened a night school to teach them how to read. With his help， many people learned to write their own names; with his help many people learned to read newspapers for the first time; with his help， many women were able to teach their children how to read. As his daughter， I know what education means to the people， especially those without it。

　　我对教育感念至深。我的父亲生长在中国一个非常小的村庄里。在那些岁月里，许多村民都不识字。因此我的父亲开办了一所夜校帮助他们识字。在他的帮助下，许多人学会了写自己的名字;在他的帮助下，许多人有生以来第一次读报;在他的帮助下，许多妇女开始有能力教自己的孩子读书写字。作为她的女儿，我知道教育对一个人来说意味着什么，特别是那些没有文化的人。

　　After generations of hard work， China has come a long way in education. I myself am a beneficiary of that progress. Otherwise I would never become a soprano and a professor of musical. I am following my father’s footsteps by teaching at China’s Conservatory of Music to help continue China’s success story。

　　在经过几代人的努力，中国的教育取得了巨大的进步。我自己就是这一进步的受益者。否则，我不会成为一个女高音和一名声乐教授。我在中国音乐学院教书，沿着父亲的足迹，帮助复制中国的成功故事。

　　I want to thank Director-general Bokova and UNESCO for naming me the Special Envoy for Women and Girls Education. I am truly honored to work with the UN and do something about Global Education. I have visited many schools around the world. I’ve seen first-hand on how much we can do for education。

　　我要感谢教科文组织任命我为“促进女童和妇女教育特使”。我对与联合国一道工作、为了全球教育做些工作感到由衷的荣幸。我访问了世界上的许多学校，我亲眼看到，我们在教育工作上还有很多的事情可以做。

　　Education is about women and the girls. It is important for girls to go to school because they will become their children’s first teacher someday. But women still account for over half of the world’s poor in population and 60% of adults who can’t read. Education is crucial in the addressing such inequalities.In China， Spring Bud Education Program has helped over 3 million girls go back to school. Many of them have finished university education and they are doing well at work。

　　教育事关妇女和女童。女童入学非常重要，因为她们有一天会成为自己孩子的第一位老师。然而，妇女依然占世界贫穷人口的一半，她们中有六成成年人不识字。教育是解决此类不平等的关键。在中国，“春蕾计划”已经帮助300万女童重返校园。许多人读完了大学，并在工作岗位上表现出色。

　　Education is about equality. In poor countries and regions the number of school dropouts is astonishing. We call for more educational resources to these places。

　　教育事关平等。在贫穷国家和地区，辍学儿童的人数高得惊人。我们呼吁将更多的教育资源投入这些地方。

　　Education is about the young people. Young people are the future. Education is important because it not only gave young people knowledge and skills but also help them become responsible citizens。

　　教育事关年轻人。年轻人是我们的未来。教育之所以重要是因为它不仅给年轻人带来知识，还帮助他们成为负责任的公民。

　　As the UNESCO special envoy and the mother myself my commitment to education for all will never change. Many years ago my father made a small difference in his village. Together we can make a big difference in the world。

　　作为教科文组织的“促进女童和妇女教育特使”和一名母亲，我对人人享有教育的承诺永不改变。许多年前，我的父亲使他的村庄发生了改变。团结起来，我们可以使这个世界得到巨大改变。

　　I was once asked about my Chinese dream. I said I hope all children especially girls can have access to good education. This is my Chinese dream. I believe one day education first will no longer be a dream， it will be a reality enjoyed by every young woman on this planet. Thank you very much。

　　我曾经被问道自己的梦想是什么。我说我希望所有的儿童、特别是女童都可以接受良好的教育。这就是我的中国梦。我相信有一天“教育优先”将不再是一个梦想，它将变成这个星球上每一个妇女都能享有的现实。谢谢大家。