2022年11月26日，以“地理学与人类命运共同体建设”为主题的首届世界地理大会在上海举行。尼日利亚前总统奥巴桑乔（Olusegun Obasanjo）以视频方式出席大会开幕式并为大会致开幕词。
奥巴桑乔表示，人类正处在历史上一个关键的十字路口，在全球范围内，气候变化、生态危机和能源安全等问题正不断带来毁灭性影响，以“地理学与人类命运共同体建设”为主题的首届世界地理大会定将对领导全球开创可持续发展的未来产生重大影响。
尼日利亚前总统奥巴桑乔（Olusegun Obasanjo）
全文如下：
First of all, I want to thank the organizers of this meeting of the World Geography Conference for their invitation, and also for their efforts in bringing together scholars， as well as peers talk, and stakeholders in this important discipline to engage in constructive deliberations on the future of humanity.
首先，我要感谢这次世界地理大会的组织者的邀请，也感谢他们将与“地理”这一重要领域的相关的学者、同行和利益相关者聚集在一起，就人类的未来进行建设性的讨论。
Against the background of existing global realities within the field of geography, from the theme of the conference—Geography and Our Common World, it will be an understatement to say that humanity is at a critical crossroads in history, on how to combine its quest for development, with the dire need for sustainable practices and the guarantee to secure our sustainable future for all. Undeniably, our insatiable thirst and the pursuit of development over the years, have placed great demands on our environment and inevitably brought all face-to-face the reality that our world is truly in need of rescue from the works of our hands. Daily across the globe, we are constantly facing the devastating effects of climate change, ecological crisis, and energy security, even as we struggle with the demands of sustainable development. A major outcome of this grand gathering will be answers to the question—how do we navigate through these challenging times and build a secured future for generations to come? I believe that the outcome of this conference will have significant impacts on global leadership, especially as for decisions on the burning issues of climate change, and other related issues are concerned.
在现有全球现实的背景下，在地理学领域内，从本次会议的主题“地理学与我们共同的世界”来看，人类正处于历史的关键十字路口——如何将我们对发展的追求与对可持续实践的迫切需求以及确保所有人的可持续未来的保障结合起来？不可否认，长期以来，人类对发展的渴望和追求对环境提出了巨大的要求，也不可避免地让我们面对这样一个现实:我们的世界确实需要从我们的手中拯救出来。在全球各地，我们每天都面临着气候变化、生态危机和能源安全的毁灭性影响，同时我们也在努力满足可持续发展的要求。这次盛会的主要成果将是回答以下问题:我们如何度过这一充满挑战的时期，为后代建设一个有保障的未来? 我相信，这次会议的结果将对全球领导力产生重大影响，特别是就气候变化等亟待解决的问题和其他相关问题作出决定。
Also, the inclusion of Africa's environment and China-Africa cooperation in the conference agenda will provide invaluable contributions to building a more robust win-win development cooperation with an assurance of a secured common future between China and Africa.
此外，将非洲环境问题和中非合作纳入会议议程，将为构建更加强劲的互利共赢发展合作、打造有保障的中非共同未来作出宝贵贡献。
I hereby congratulate the organizers of this meeting, in addition of the World Geography Conference, and wish all participants for full deliberation. And thank you for listening.
在此，我向本次会议的组织者以及世界地理大会表示祝贺，并祝愿所有与会者充分参与议题讨论。谢谢大家的聆听。
