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.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 organisations 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.
These bureaucrats are planning to get the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) involved in the madcap scheme.
The campaign said it has sent a request to the UN geospatial body, UN-GGIM. A UN spokesperson said that once received it must be reviewed and approved by a committee of experts.Other regions 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.”
The Mercator map traces its origins back to 1569 when Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer, wanted to solve the navigational challenge of depicting a spherical Earth on a flat surface. His map projection system enabled sailors to plot straight-line routes that represented constant compass bearings, which was a significant breakthrough for navigation at sea.
By preserving angles and allowing for accurate direction-finding, the Mercator projection revolutionized maritime travel, and it became an indispensable tool for the historic voyages during the Age of Exploration.
Today, the usefulness of the Mercator map endures, especially in digital mapping platforms that we all know and love.
Fast forward to today, the Mercator projection is still incredibly relevant, although its use has evolved. Now, it has found a new home in the world of digital mapping. Online mapping services like Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Mapbox use this projection because of its unique characteristics. Its ability to maintain accurate angles helps provide consistent maps at all zoom levels. When you zoom in or out on a digital map, its the Mercator projection working behind the scenes that maintains the true shape and angles of roads, coastlines, and buildings.Despite its downside – distortion of size near the poles, the Mercator’s ability to maintain accurate directions and shapes is still its big selling point. It’s a trade-off that has proven successful for many forms of navigation, from historical sea voyages to today’s digital map searches. So even after centuries, the Mercator projection still plays a crucial role in how we explore and understand our planet.
When I took my geography class at Wayne State University, I began to appreciate the navigational component of Mercator maps. If I needed to assess the scale of continents, I would refer to a globe.
Perhaps it is time for officials to stop racializing crucial technologies and embrace the power of effective mapping systems…even though white men invented them.
If you are basing your pride on the relative size of the landmass of your continent rather than the accomplishments of your people, then something is wrong with your approach to life….no matter your race, creed, culture, or ethnicity. Teach your children from both a globe and a Mercator map, as that is the best way.
Image by perplexity.ai
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY