'Correcting The Map': reshaping perceptions of Africa

THE Mercator world map, long a fixture in classrooms globally, makes the EU appear almost as large as Africa.

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In reality, Africa is more than seven times bigger.

It is a distortion that has prompted a new African initiative, “Correct the Map’, calling for depictions that show Africa’s true scale.

“For centuries, this map has minimised Africa, feeding into a narrative that the continent is smaller, peripheral and less important,” said Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of Speak Up Africa, which is leading the campaign alongside another advocacy group, Africa No Filter.

Accurately translating the Earth’s sphere into a flat map always calls for compromises, requiring parts to be stretched, cut or left out, experts said.

Historically, maps have reflected the worldview of their makers.

Babylonian clay tablets from the sixth century BC placed their empire at the centre of the world, while medieval European charts often focused on religious sites.