The African Union (AU) has kicked off a disturbing, racialist campaign to end the use of the 16th-century Mercator map by governments and international organizations.
The officials from the organization want the adoption of a map system that more accurately shows Africa’s actual size. The AU asserts that the Mercator projection distorts global perceptions, “marginalizing” Africans in ways harmful to their “pride”.
“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 over a billion people. The AU has 55 member states.
Such stereotypes influence media, education and policy, she said...
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