As president of the IFLA Africa region in 2021, I had the privilege to introduce Kongjian Yu as a keynote speaker at our IFLA Africa Symposium hosted by ILASA, the South African Association, and held online.

Apart from his inspiring knowledge and inspirational projects, what stood out to me was the humility of this great person, and his humanity. He was quick to praise and support others and clearly remained attached to his family and childhood home in rural China.

It was a pleasure to hear him speak in Nantes, France, again just a few weeks before his passing.

Let’s make the sponge planet a reality in his honour.

译文：

作为2021年国际景观设计师联合会（IFLA）非洲区主席，我有幸在由南非景观设计师协会（ILASA）主办、线上举行的IFLA非洲研讨会上邀请俞孔坚教授担任主旨演讲嘉宾。

除了他令人振奋的专业知识和启发性的项目，这位伟大人物的谦逊品格与人文情怀更令我印象深刻。他从不吝啬对他人的赞扬与支持，始终眷恋着中国乡村的故土与家人。

在他离世前几周，在法国南特再次聆听他的演讲，实属荣幸。让我们以"海绵星球"理念的实现来纪念他。