Now, Africa No Filter and Converse Up Africa are launching the Appropriate the Map marketing campaign to place an finish to this enduring falsehood.
For hundreds of years, the world has been misled about Africa’s true dimension. The Mercator map—one of the vital extensively used world maps—has shrunk the continent, distorting its scale and minimizing its world significance.
Africa covers 30.37 million sq. kilometers—massive sufficient to suit the US, China, India, and most of Europe mixed. But, in lecture rooms, newsrooms, publications, and boardrooms worldwide, the Mercator projection presents Africa as a lot smaller than it truly is.
Designed for Sixteenth-century maritime navigation, the map artificially enlarges World North areas whereas drastically lowering the perceived dimension of continents like Africa. The consequence? A distorted world view that downplays Africa’s financial, cultural, and political significance.
Now, Africa No Filter and Converse Up Africa are launching the Appropriate the Map marketing campaign to place an finish to this enduring falsehood. The Appropriate the Map marketing campaign is asking on worldwide organizations—together with the UN, World Financial institution, and BBC—to change to the Equal Earth map projection, a fairer and extra correct illustration of world geography.
By means of a world petition and marketing campaign constitution, the initiative invitations establishments, educators, and media platforms to pledge their dedication to utilizing maps that depict Africa’s true dimension.
“Geography has historical past. Africa’s misrepresentation on world maps is not only a cartographic error—it’s a story problem,” says Moky Makura, Government Director of Africa No Filter.
“By lowering the dimensions of Africa, we’re subconsciously downplaying its significance. It’s time we took a stand.”
Yacine Djibo, Founder and Government Director of Converse Up Africa, provides: “Choices about Africa—financial, political, and developmental—are being made utilizing a false reference level. We want the world to see Africa because it really is.”
The world can’t afford to maintain making selections based mostly on a 400-year-old distortion. It’s time to repair the map and reframe the narrative.
Signal the petition to Appropriate the Map right here: https://www.change.org/CorrectTheMap
Observe the marketing campaign on-line: www.correctthemap.org
