Reuters
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The African Union has backed a marketing campaign to finish the use by governments and worldwide organizations of the Sixteenth-century Mercator map of the world in favor of one which extra precisely shows Africa’s size.
Created by cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas close to the poles like North America and Greenland whereas shrinking Africa and South America.
“It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” AU Commission deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi informed Reuters, saying the Mercator fostered a misunderstanding that Africa was “marginal,” regardless of being the world’s second-largest continent by space, with over a billion individuals. The AU has 55 member states.
Such stereotypes affect media, schooling and coverage, she stated.
Criticism of the Mercator map shouldn’t be new, however the ‘Correct The Map’ marketing campaign led by advocacy teams Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa has revived the talk, urging organizations to undertake the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which tries to mirror nations’ true sizes.
“The current size of the map of Africa is wrong,” Moky Makura, government director of Africa No Filter, stated. “It’s the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign, and it just simply has to stop.”
Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of Speak Up Africa, stated the Mercator affected Africans’ identification and satisfaction, particularly kids who may encounter it early at school.
“We’re actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal Earth projection will be the main standard across all (African) classrooms,” Ndiaye stated, including she hoped it will even be the one utilized by world establishments, together with Africa-based ones.
Haddadi stated the AU endorsed the marketing campaign, including it aligned with its purpose of “reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the global stage” amid rising requires reparations for colonialism and slavery.
The AU will advocate for wider map adoption and talk about collective actions with member states, Haddadi added.
The Mercator projection remains to be extensively used, together with by faculties and tech corporations. Google Maps switched from Mercator on desktop to a 3D globe view in 2018, although customers can nonetheless change again to the Mercator if they like.
On the cell app, nonetheless, the Mercator projection stays the default.
‘Correct The Map’ needs organizations just like the World Bank and the United Nations to undertake the Equal Earth map. A World Bank spokesperson stated they already use the Winkel-Tripel or Equal Earth for static maps and are phasing out Mercator on net maps.
The marketing campaign stated it has despatched a request to the UN geospatial physique, UN-GGIM. A UN spokesperson stated that when obtained it should be reviewed and authorised by a committee of consultants.
Other areas are backing the AU’s efforts. Dorbrene O’Marde, Vice Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission, endorsed Equal Earth as a rejection of Mercator map’s “ideology of power and dominance.”