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Title: African Union Urges Adoption of World Map Showing Continent's True
Size

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/14/2315...

The African Union has endorsed the "Correct The Map" campaign, urging
governments and global institutions to replace the distorted 16th-century
Mercator projection with the Equal Earth map that more accurately represents
Africa's true size. Reuters reports: "It might seem to be just a map, but in
reality, it is not," AU Commission deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi
told Reuters, saying the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was
"marginal," despite being the world's second-largest continent by area, with
54 nations and over a billion people. Such stereotypes influence media,
education and policy, she said. Criticism of the Mercator map is not new, but
the 'Correct The Map' campaign led by advocacy groups Africa No Filter and
Speak Up Africa has revived the debate, urging organizations to adopt the
2018 Equal Earth projection, which tries to reflect countries' true sizes.
"The current size of the map of Africa is wrong," Moky Makura, executive
director of Africa No Filter, said. "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, said the Mercator affected Africans' identity and
pride, especially children who might encounter it early in school. "We're
actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal Earth projection
will be the main standard across all (African) classrooms," Ndiaye said,
adding she hoped it would also be the one used by global institutions,
including Africa-based ones. [...] The Mercator projection is still widely
used, including by schools and tech companies. Google Maps switched from
Mercator on desktop to a 3D globe view in 2018, though users can still switch
back to the Mercator if they prefer. On the mobile app, however, the Mercator
projection remains the default. 'Correct The Map' wants organizations like
the World Bank and the United Nations to adopt the Equal Earth map. A World
Bank spokesperson said they already use the Winkel-Tripel or Equal Earth for
static maps and are phasing out Mercator on web maps.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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