The Assembly of the African Union (AU) has adopted a landmark decision to correct Africa’s longstanding misrepresentation in global maps, educational materials, and geospatial systems, formally endorsing the Equal Earth projection as a more accurate standard and setting in motion a continental push to revise national curricula across all 55 member states.
The decision was taken at the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 14 and 15, 2026, and was made public through an official press release issued in partnership with Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa, the advocacy organisations behind the Correct the Map campaign.
At the heart of the decision is a rejection of the Mercator projection, the dominant world map created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America. On the Mercator map, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same size. But on the Equal Earth projection showing continents in their true proportions, 14 Greenlands would easily fit inside the African continent.
The Assembly recognised that these distortions have had consequences beyond geography. The decision states that distorted maps have undermined global understanding of Africa’s economic realities and development opportunities, influenced infrastructure planning, environmental governance, and geopolitical analysis, and shaped perceptions of power for generations of students, policymakers, and media consumers.
Professor Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Togo and a key advocate of the decision, said the moment calls for a fundamental reassessment of how Africa is visualised. “We need a new political map of Africa that shows its true size and place in the world. A fair representation of Africa is essential for global awareness, education, and geopolitical understanding,” he said.
The Assembly’s decision adopts the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, as a fairer and more proportionate global mapping standard, and encourages member states to revise national curricula accordingly. It also designates a Champion to lead implementation and reporting across the continent.
The move advances the AU’s 2025 theme of the year, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” and is framed within the aspirations of Agenda 2063, the AU’s development blueprint, particularly its goal of strengthening Africa’s ownership of its own narrative and global positioning.
Moky Makura, Executive Director of Africa No Filter, said the decision reflects growing continental unity on the question of representation. “We are pleased to be part of this historic moment. When Africa comes together to correct long standing distortions, we move the continent forward. Accurate representation is not just about maps. It is about agency, progress, and ensuring the world sees Africa as it truly is,” she said.
The World Bank has already confirmed it uses the Winkel-Tripel or Equal Earth projections for its static maps and is phasing out the Mercator on web maps. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission has separately endorsed Equal Earth as a rejection of the Mercator map’s perceived ideology of power and dominance.
The Correct the Map campaign has also submitted formal requests to the United Nations to review its cartographic practices. Whether global institutions, technology companies, and publishing houses follow the AU’s lead will determine how quickly the shift moves from a continental policy decision to a visible change in everyday maps seen by billions of people worldwide.
