From Nainoa Thompson, 2024 AAG Honorary Geographer, at his acceptance speech presented at the AAG annual conference in Honolulu April 2024:

“Geographers today in the 21st century clearly understand the importance of the earth. They are navigators for tomorrow who are able to view the world not just from its physical and ecological space but also from humanity’s relationship to it. They look at the whole earth and all of humanity and that relationship so that they can help us make better choices to create a sail plan that will take us to a future that is good enough for our keiki (children).”

From Emeritus Professor Iain Hay, 2024 RGSQ JP Thomson medallist ration on 7 May 2024, which explored how voluntary, community-based learned geographical societies signal hope for Australian geography: “In an era characterised by environmental degradation, sociospatial polarisation, and geopolitical turmoil, geography is of vast and heightened significance.”