France, May 10 -- The proposal was approved by the African Union in April after leaders raised the issue during the bloc's February summit, backing a campaign to replace the long dominant Mercator projection with one that more accurately reflects the true size of the world's continents - especially Africa.

Faya Ndiaye, co-founder and deputy executive director of advocacy organisation Speak Up Africa, argues that distorting the true size of countries on maps can quietly shape how people view who matters in the world.

"I think it's important to note that maps are not neutral," she told RFI.

Of the widely used Mercator map, she said: "Greenland appears almost as large as Africa, when in reality Africa is 14 times larger." Shaping percepti...