Addis Ababa — The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed a resolution supporting the transition from the centuries-old Mercator projection to more accurate equal-area world maps, including the 2018 Equal Earth projection. The resolution was backed by 164 countries, with the United States voting against and six countries abstaining. Togo introduced the resolution to the…
Nigeria has joined 163 other countries to endorse an African-led UN resolution seeking fairer world maps that accurately reflect Africa’s true geographical size. The UN General Assembly adopted the historic “Correct the Map” resolution by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions. The United States cast the sole opposing vote, while Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova,…
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on Friday September 4, calling for world maps that more accurately represent the true size of continents, particularly Africa. The resolution, titled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing global cartographic representation and promoting equitable representation of the world’s regions, particularly Africa,” received 164 votes in favour. Rwanda was among…
The Mercator Projection did not only distort geography, it distorted ambitions, argues CHETA NWANZE “Perception is reality.” – Lee Atwater. Yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority. The resolution encourages governments and institutions to replace the Mercator projection, the 16th-century map that has shaped how generations have visualised the world,…
The United Nations General Assembly will on Friday, September 4, vote on an African-led initiative calling for wider use of world maps that represent the size of continents particularly Africa more accurately. The draft resolution, led by Togo and backed by the African Union (AU), encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to use…
New York / Amsterdam — An African-led campaign against the dominance and ‘cartographic colonialism’ of the Mercator projection of the world map has won overwhelming backing at the United Nations after centuries of maps that visually diminished the continent In a historic vote, the United Nations has backed an African-led campaign to move the world…
The Mercator map was designed in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European explorers navigate across the world. The distortion of his map is a result of the fact that it is impossible to accurately represent the surface of a globe on a two-dimensional chart. Whenever a map of the world is…
Delegates from 196 nations plus EU officials have met in Mongolia to discuss how best to tackle drought and desertification. Often overlooked by the larger and busier climate summits, this small UN desertification summit, known as Cop17, felt more important than ever. Yet countries still could not agree on what needs to be done. Negotiations…
Nairobi — The world is now on course to overshoot the 1.5°C climate threshold within the next few years, with even the most optimistic scenario projecting warming to peak at 1.8°C, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned. In a new report released Wednesday, UNEP said crossing 1.5°C would expose countries and communities to escalating climate…
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 1 2026 (IPS) – Open a can of something fizzy and the reason the sugar doesn’t separate immediately is gum arabic, tapped by hand from acacia trees across the Sahel. Spray on perfume and the reason the scent is still there at dinner is frankincense, a resin cut from Boswellia trees on…
