UN General Assembly to Vote on Adopting New World Map
2 sources across 2 countries · Norway · United States
Who reported this
- Aftenposten
- CNN
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- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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The United Nations General Assembly is voting on a resolution to adopt a new world map that more accurately reflects the relative sizes of countries. The proposal, put forward by Togo and supported by African Union member states and the Bahamas, seeks to replace the widely used Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection. The Mercator projection, created in 1569, is useful for navigation but distorts the scale of landmasses. This results in regions far from the equator appearing disproportionately large; for example, Greenland appears similar in size to Africa, although Africa is actually 14 times larger.
Supporters of the resolution argue that the current map creates a symbolic minimization of Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. France has announced it will abandon the Mercator projection in favor of more accurate representations, with French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stating that the time has come to correct distortions that take root in perceptions. Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey described the matter as a scientific discussion rather than a political one.
Outlets with a center-left lean frame the issue as an act of cognitive justice and memorial reparation intended to combat legacies of European superiority. In contrast, outlets with a center-right lean frame the issue as a scientific correction to ensure the world accepts geographical reality.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Framed the map change as a matter of social justice and a way to correct historical prejudices and symbolic minimization.
- Centre-right
- Framed the map change as a scientific necessity to correct inaccurate geographical representations.
Sources
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