“It is a matter of perspective”
This seems to be the universal response when questions are raised about the meaning or implications of an evaluation, a rapid assessment, or policy review. Results may be clear and factual, but once they reach politicians, managers, or decision-makers, evidence is often filtered through their beliefs, values, and priorities, potentially leading to misinterpretation or selective use of the findings.
That’s why the way we present data matters just as much as the data itself. Communicating evidence in a clear, compelling, and unbiased way is key if we want it to be understood—and acted upon—correctly. One powerful example of this is unfolding right now: the African Union has endorsed the #CorrectTheMap Campaign, a global call urging the United Nations and the wider international community to adopt a different kind of world map from what is currently used and widely accepted. As the campaign’s website explains:
“ …For more than 450 years, our dominant view of the globe has been shaped by the Mercator projection, a map that systematically distorts landmasses near the equator. The result? Africa -the world’s second-largest continent -appears far smaller than it truly is. In reality, Africa could comfortably contain the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and much of Europe, with room left to spare…. ” ”
The Hidden Power of Projections
Because the Earth is round, any attempt to represent it on a flat surface requires a map projection – and with every projection, some distortion is inevitable. But maps are more than just tools for navigations; they tell stories. They communicate meaning, power, and perspective. By minimising the Global South and exaggerating the Global North, the Mercator projection – the map most of us commonly know and use today- inadvertently reinforces centuries-old colonial hierarchies.
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No Map is Ever “Neutral”
Every map projection is designed with a purpose in mind—whether for navigation, logistics, health planning, or advocacy. For example, to calculate the walking distance from a community to the nearest health facility in South Sudan, you will need a very specific map projection which accurately preserves distances but might distort shapes. This will be very different from a map projection used to visualise global health investments per country. Geographers and spatial analysts make deliberate choices at the technical stage, but how the final results are presented to decision-makers is just as critical.
Correcting the Map
That is why the #CorrectTheMap movement calls on the world to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which provides a fairer representation of land areas. This projection helps to restore Africa to its true scale, shifting the narrative towards a more accurate and just global perspective.
A Fairer View of the World
At KIT Institute’s Center for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE), we strongly support this initiative. We encourage others to learn more about it as well and even sign the petition. Like any projection, the Equal Earth map is not perfect—and no map ever will be—but it is certainly better suited for portraying a truthful view of the world.
If this topic has sparked your interest and you’d like to learn more about projections and their real-world applications, we invite you to join our upcoming GIS course next spring.
Together, let’s not just look at the world differently—let’s map it differently.
