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The United Nations votes to adopt a new map that shows Africa's true scale · THE DAILY BRIEF

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The United Nations has passed a resolution to adopt a
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  Speaker 1: new version of the world map. The new map aims
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  Speaker 1: to better represent the true size of the globe's continents.
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  Speaker 1: The old Mercator or Mercator originated back in 1569 and
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  Speaker 1: distorts the size of countries and continents around the equator
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  Speaker 1: and in the polar regions. The correct the map resolution
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  Speaker 1: was put forth.
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  Speaker 2: By the African Union.
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  Speaker 1: 164 members of the UN voted in favor. only the
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  Speaker 1: United States voted against. The resolution was spearheaded by the
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  Speaker 1: African country Togo. Its foreign minister outlined the point of
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  Speaker 1: changing the map.
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  Speaker 3: First is a symbolic significance for us. It's very important.
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  Speaker 3: Second is the historical significance. Third point is also a
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  Speaker 3: cultural significance for us because we said now After the resolution,
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  Speaker 3: we can know exactly, and we can know, we can share,
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  Speaker 3: and we can talk about the real size of African continent.
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  Speaker 3: We need to see, we need to see, and we
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  Speaker 3: need to work for the better, what we say.
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  Speaker 2: A fair world begins with a fair map. All right,
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  Speaker 2: I want to pull in now Farah India.
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  Speaker 1: She is a leading African advocate who works to Ensure
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  Speaker 1: the continent's voice is heard in global debates on development, health,
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  Speaker 1: and policy. Tonight, she joins us as the world rethinks
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  Speaker 1: one of the most familiar images, and that is the
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  Speaker 1: map of the world.
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  Speaker 2: Farah, it's good to have you with us.
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  Speaker 1: For many viewers, this sounds like a debate about maps.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me why it is more than that.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you for having me. Yes, it's a lot more
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  Speaker 4: than that, because a map is never just a drawing.
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  Speaker 4: It's a story about who matters. It's the first image
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  Speaker 4: of the world a child sees, and it stays with
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  Speaker 4: them for life. So when the map most of us
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  Speaker 4: grew up with shows Africa the size of Greenland, when
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  Speaker 4: in reality, Africa is 14 times larger, the message is quiet,
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  Speaker 4: but still very clear that our African continent is smaller
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  Speaker 4: and it matters less. So we know that physical maps
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  Speaker 4: shape mental maps. Mental maps influence diplomacy. They influence investment
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  Speaker 4: decisions and global priorities. So a continent that looks small
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  Speaker 4: is more easily sidelined in negotiations or treated as less
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  Speaker 4: central to global affairs. So this was never just about geography.
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  Speaker 4: It's really truly about perception and perception is power.
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  Speaker 1: So how significant then is this UN vote? I mean,
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  Speaker 1: I'm I'm assuming you think it's going to have real
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  Speaker 1: world impacts.
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  Speaker 4: It is very significant because for almost 500 years, the
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  Speaker 4: Mercator projection has been the default picture of the planet
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  Speaker 4: and no one ever chose it. Today, 164 countries chose
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  Speaker 4: something and they chose accuracy that has never happened before.
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  Speaker 4: And I really want to give credit to Professor Robert
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  Speaker 4: Ducey of Togo, who carried this personally to the General
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  Speaker 4: Assembly and to the African Union, which stood behind him.
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  Speaker 4: So this is really Africa setting the agenda on how
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  Speaker 4: the continent really is seen and not asking for permission.
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  Speaker 4: But we also have to be realistic because the resolution
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  Speaker 4: is not binding, right? So nobody's atlas is going to
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  Speaker 4: change overnight. What changes is really... that every ministry of education,
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  Speaker 4: every publisher, every tech company now has the official reference
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  Speaker 4: point that they did not have yesterday. So a teacher
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  Speaker 4: who wants to use an accurate map no longer has
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  Speaker 4: to justify it. So the burden of proof has now
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  Speaker 4: moved to those who want to keep using a distorted map. And,
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  Speaker 4: you know, that's really what the UN resolution did today.
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  Speaker 4: It really changed the norms. And now our job is
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  Speaker 4: really to turn that norm into practice.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, you said that this vote is not binding,
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  Speaker 1: but it certainly makes a statement in the fact that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, you had almost all members of the UN
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  Speaker 1: voting for it.
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  Speaker 2: What's the next step here?
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  Speaker 1: Do you think it will be in classrooms around the world,
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  Speaker 1: simply having an accurate portrayal of the continents around the
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  Speaker 1: world there for children to see?
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  Speaker 4: That's our ambition and that's what we're going to work towards. Ideally,
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  Speaker 4: we want three things. The first is that the UN
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  Speaker 4: system itself should apply the resolution and its report, its
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  Speaker 4: public materials, so that member states have a model to follow. Second,
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  Speaker 4: we want ministries of education, starting with African Union members,
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  Speaker 4: to bring accurate maps into curricula, textbooks, classroom materials. And
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  Speaker 4: this is really, we know that classrooms is where perceptions
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  Speaker 4: are formed, and it's really something that a government can
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  Speaker 4: have an impact on within the school year. So this
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  Speaker 4: is really quite important for us. And third, we want
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  Speaker 4: tech companies as well, because now most people know the
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  Speaker 4: world through their phone and they meet the world through
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  Speaker 4: their screen. So the default has always been the Mercator projection.
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  Speaker 4: We want to make sure that we set a new
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  Speaker 4: standard and really show that the relative size of continents
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  Speaker 4: actually matter. So with Speak of Africa and Africa and
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  Speaker 4: our partners, Africa No Filter, what we're going to really
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  Speaker 4: focus on is ensuring that we're following on who acts
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  Speaker 4: and who does not. And we'll make sure to say
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  Speaker 4: so publicly as well.
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  Speaker 1: Before we run out of time, I want to ask you,
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  Speaker 1: You know, there are some critics who say that changing
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  Speaker 1: maps will not create jobs. It will not reduce poverty.
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  Speaker 1: They say maps at the end of the day don't matter.
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  Speaker 1: What do you say to that?
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  Speaker 4: Well, I couldn't disagree any more than that. I think
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  Speaker 4: we're entering a century in which by 2050, one person
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  Speaker 4: in Africa will be one person in the world, sorry,
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  Speaker 4: will be from from Africa. The continent is central to climate, energy, trade,
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  Speaker 4: security issues as well. We have the largest population on Earth.
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  Speaker 4: We're the second largest continent by population and by land
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  Speaker 4: as well. So for us, it's really important to be
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  Speaker 4: seen for what we are and for how large we
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  Speaker 4: are as well. And it's really an issue I think
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  Speaker 4: that should matter to the global audience because we're all
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  Speaker 4: looking at the same wrong map. It's not just an
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  Speaker 4: African issue.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 4: The Mercator production shrinks the entire equatorial belt. So South America,
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  Speaker 4: South Asia, Southeast Asia. And when people really outside of
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  Speaker 4: Africa grew up with a distorted picture, they carry a
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  Speaker 4: distorted understanding of the world's economy. And when these accurate
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  Speaker 4: maps actually does not take anything from anyone, they don't
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  Speaker 4: make anyone smaller. They just really show everyone in their
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  Speaker 4: true size.
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  Speaker 2: Unfortunately, we're out of time. Farah, NDI, good talking with you, though.
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  Speaker 1: And I am sure people will be looking twice at
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  Speaker 1: their maps now.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.