The "Map Amendment" resolution was approved in early September at the United Nations in New York and was a significant success for African countries that led this campaign. In this session, 164 member countries voted in favor of using "equal-area" projections and other equal-area maps instead of the 16th-century Mercator projection.
Support for the Map Amendment Campaign
Robert Dussey, the Foreign Minister of Togo who supported this campaign at the United Nations, referred to this success as a "sense of pride." He stated, "Finally, Africa is fighting to reclaim its place in the community of nations. Its current position is unjust and does not align with the historical, geographical, or economic realities of Africa."
Cultural and Social Impacts
Dussey emphasized that this discussion about global maps also symbolically relates to a reevaluation of the maps of realities and knowledge, culture, and identity, and correcting misconceptions about political and economic realities and power. The only UN member country that voted against this resolution was the United States.
Meanwhile, this resolution is part of a broader global trend. French historian Romain Tilly from the Global Africa Institute noted that since the late 2000s and early 2010s, there have been many discussions about "decolonizing knowledge" in universities and cultural institutions.
He added that many countries, particularly African countries, are striving to free their educational systems from colonial influences. For example, the Malian government decided in October 2025 to remove French history from the school curriculum and instead focus on Malian history and other ancient kingdoms of West Africa.
Filimon Mutoi from Tumaini University in Tanzania stated that Mali has taken an important step, and this decision will help strengthen nationalism and a stronger understanding of national history.
The "Map Amendment" campaign is part of a larger movement aimed at changing the negative image of Africa in the media and emphasizing positive developments and initiatives on the continent. François Bouda, one of the officials in culture and arts at the organization "Africa Without Filters," stated that the media continues to portray Africa as a poor and crisis-ridden continent.
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