在青年倡议新闻发布会上得讲话
上午好。感谢布隆伯格市长。今天能来这里参加纽约市“青年行动计划”的启动仪式，我非常高兴。市长在这一计划中展现了远见与领导力，正因如此，我很乐意与他携手合作。
Good Morning. Thank you Mayor Bloomberg. I am delighted to be here today for the launch of New York City’s Young Men’s Initiative. The Mayor has shown vision and leadership with this Initiative and that is why I am happy to join forces with him.
接下来的三年里，我的开放社会基金会计划为这项工作捐赠 3000 万美元。我希望其他人也能加入我们，让这笔资金发挥更大的作用。
Over the next three years, my Open Society Foundations plan to contribute $30 million to this effort. I hope that others will join us, making it even more significant.
各位已经听说，“青年倡议”是一项迫切需要的综合性计划，旨在大幅改善纽约最弱势儿童的命运。它将让我们的城市变得更加强大美好，并为全美树立榜样。
As you have heard, theYoung Men’s Initiative is a sorely needed and comprehensive program that aims to transform the lives of New York’s most vulnerable children. This will help make our city a stronger and better place and set an example for the rest of the country.
我的开放社会基金会长期认可有色人种年轻男性面临的系统性不公。我们设立了黑人男性成就计划，向有色人种年轻男性的教育、就业及强化家庭方面的努力进行投资。很高兴看到戴维·班克斯在这里——该计划一直是他雄鹰学院的主要支持者。
My Open Society Foundation has long recognized the systemic injustices that young men of color face. We have established a Campaign for Black Male Achievement to invest in education, employment and efforts to strengthen families for young men of color. I am happy to see David Banks here- the Campaign has been a major supporter of his Eagle Academy.
与市政府和彭博慈善基金会合作，我们的捐款将重点提高黑人和西班牙裔男性高中毕业、上大学并找到工作的比例。我们的资金还将通过为年轻父亲创造教育和就业机会，鼓励负责任的父职行为。此外，通过提高缓刑期间年轻人的识字率，我们希望能降低累犯率。减少监禁——这一现象对黑人和西班牙裔男性的影响尤为严重——长期以来一直是我们在美国工作的核心。
In partnership with the city and Bloomberg Philanthropies, our contribution will focus on increasing the number of Black and Hispanic males who graduate from high school, go to college and get jobs. Our funding will also encourage responsible fatherhood by creating education and employment opportunities for young fathers. In addition, by increasing literacy among young adults on probation, we hope to scale back recidivism. Reducing incarceration – which disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic males – has long been at the core of our work in the United States.
社会在这一领域面临的挑战极为艰巨。在纽约市，仅有约一半的非裔美国男性高中毕业。他们父母入狱的可能性是其他族裔的七倍。黑人和拉丁裔年轻男性的贫困率比白人和亚裔同龄人高出 50%。他们的失业率高出 60%。超过三分之一的非裔美国男性最终会进入刑事司法系统。这些儿童和年轻人不仅需要严谨的学术课程来激发他们的兴趣、提升学业成绩，还需要实习机会、课后项目、导师和指导，以帮助他们顺利衔接大学，并在高中毕业后找到满意的工作。
The challenges society faces in this area are immense. In New York City, only about half of African American males finish high school. They are seven times more likely to have an incarcerated parent. The poverty rate for Black and Latino young men is 50 percent higher than for their White and Asian counterparts. Their rate of unemployment is 60 percent higher. And more than one third of African American males end up in the criminal justice system. These children and young men need not only rigorous academic programs to hold their interest and improve their academic performance but they also need internships, after-school programs, mentors and guidance that can connect and prepare them for college and satisfying work after high school.
我刚列举的这组数据触目惊心。这幅图景与我们理想中的社会形态格格不入。但我从亲身实践中深知，改善这种状况是完全可行的。我的基金会多年来一直在致力于解决这些问题，尤其在巴尔的摩——1998 年我在那里成立了一家地方基金会。
These statistics I have just recited are appalling. The picture they paint is inconsistent with the kind of society we aspire to be. But I know from practical experience that it is possible to make meaningful improvements in this state of affairs. My foundation has been working on these issues for many years, particularly in Baltimore, where I established a local foundation in 1998.
有一次我去那里访问，震惊地发现了所谓的“从学校到监狱的输送通道”。少年司法系统中的许多孩子最终身陷囹圄，起因不过是被停学或开除。这些学校急于达到《不让一个孩子掉队法案》的标准。激励措施本应反过来起作用。一个孩子被开除并最终卷入刑事司法体系，这衡量的是失败——而不是一所追求达到《不让一个孩子掉队法案》标准的学校的成功。
On a visit there I was shocked to discover the so-called “school to prison pipeline”. Many of the children in the juvenile justice system ended up there because they were suspended or expelled. Their schools were eager to meet the standards of No Child Left Behind. The incentives ought to work the other way. It is a measure of failure when a child is expelled and winds up entangled in the criminal justice system – not a measure of success for a school that seeks to meet the standards of No Child Left Behind.
很长时间里，我一直怀疑我们能否产生什么影响。但过了一段时间，结果开始体现在统计数据上。在巴尔的摩，高中阶段进步最大的是非裔美国男孩——他们正是推动该地区毕业率上升的那群人。我决定，只要其他捐助者提供等额配捐，我就值得无限期地把这件事做下去。当地的配套支持让这项努力取得了更大的成功，现在巴尔的摩市民积极参与其中，他们拥有了一个可以称为自己的基金会。
For a long time I was skeptical of our ability to have an impact. But after a while the results began to show up in the statistics. In Baltimore, it is the African American boys who are showing the greatest improvement in high school – they are the ones responsible for increased graduation rates for the district. I decided it was worth continuing the effort indefinitely on condition that my contribution was matched by other donors. The local support made the effort even more successful and now the citizens of Baltimore are actively engaged and they have a foundation they can call their own.
在巴尔的摩，我们学到了与合作的重要意义——不是简单地打造一个私立的卓越孤岛。我们还学到，独立的顾问委员会是成功的关键。我很高兴看到纽约青年计划正在组建一个由杰出专家组成的独立顾问委员会。市长的这一举措，展示了普通公民如何与政府合作，让政府变得更好。
In Baltimore we learned how important it is to work with the school authorities rather than simply creating private enclaves of excellence. We also learned that an independent advisory board is a key to success and I am pleased that the New York Young Men’s Initiative is in the process of assembling a distinguished group of experts to constitute an independent advisory board. The Mayor’s initiative shows how private citizens can work with government to make it better.
受到我们在巴尔的摩成绩的鼓舞，以及这一举措展现出的前景，我打算把以城市为单位的方式，作为我在美国慈善事业的一块基石。我们将在全美范围内寻求建立类似的公私合作伙伴关系。
Encouraged by our success in Baltimore, and the promise held out by this initiative, I intend to make a city-based approach a cornerstone of my philanthropy in the United States. We will look to forge similar public- partnerships around the country.
Thank you.
Thank you.