“Youth” is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence of childhood to adulthood’s independence and awareness of our interdependence as members of a community. Youth is a more fluid category than a fixed age-group.

　　“青年”一般被理解为一个过渡时期，指从童年的依赖到成年的独立、以及意识到我们作为社会成员所具有的独立性这样一个时期。而青年实际上并不是一个固定的年龄段。

　　However, age is the easiest way to define this group, particularly in relation to education and employment. Therefore “youth” is often indicated as a person between the age where he/she may leave compulsory education, and the age at which he/she finds his/her first employment. This latter age limit has been increasing, as higher levels of unemployment and the cost of setting up an independent household puts many young people into a prolonged period of dependency.

　　然而年龄却是定义青年的最简单方式，特别是和教育以及就业有关。因此，“青年”往往指的是一个人从结束义务教育之后，到找到第一份工作之前的这段时间。但是随着失业失业水平的提高、以及建立独立家庭的成本使得许多年轻的人依赖期更长，“青年”的后一年龄界限一直在升高。

　　When carrying out its Youth Strategy, UNESCO uses different definitions of youth depending on the context.

　　在实施青年战略时，联合国教科文组织根据不同的情况采用了多种不同的青年定义。

　　For activities at international or at regional level, such as the African Youth Forum, UNESCO uses the United Nations’ universal definition.

　　对于例如“非洲青年论坛”等国际或地区层面的活动，联合国教科文组织使用的是联合国的统一定义。

　　The UN, for statistical consistency across regions, defines ‘youth’, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by Member States. All UN statistics on youth are based on this definition, as illustrated by the annual yearbooks of statistics published by the United Nations system on demography, education, employment and health.

　　出于对所有地区统计一致性的考虑，联合国定义“青年”为15至24岁人群，该定义不与其他成员国的定义相违背。根据联合国发布的人口、教育、就业和健康系统的统计年鉴显示，联合国所有和青年相关的统计都基于这一定义。

　　For activities at the national level, for example when implementing a local community youth programme, “youth” may be understood in a more flexible manner. UNESCO will then adopt the definition of “youth” as used by a particular Member State. It can be based for instance on the definition given in the African Youth Charter where “youth” means “every person between the ages of 15 and 35 years”.

　　但是在国家层面的活动中，例如在实施本国社会青年项目时，“青年”可以有更灵活的含义。此时联合国教科文组织将采用某些特定成员国所使用的“青年”定义。例如可以使用《非洲青年宪章》中对“青年”的定义——即“15到35岁人群”。

（编辑：何莹莹）