Decolonizing perceptions about Africa
A UN resolution to redraw the global map to project the African continent more accurately, national initiatives to decolonize schools and a campaign to present positive developments are changing the way Africa is seen.
The Correct the Map resolution, endorsed by the United Nations at the beginning of September, was a significant success for African countries. In the General Assembly, 164 member states voted to promote equal-area maps like the Equal Earth projection over the outdated Mercator projection. Togo's foreign minister, Robert Dussey, expressed pride in the campaign, which is also backed by the African Union.
He emphasized that Africa's current global standing is unfair and misrepresents the continent's reality in historical, geographical, and economic terms. The UN resolution, however, faced opposition from the United States, a UN member state led by President Donald Trump, who has often engaged in political symbolism, such as renaming geographical locations on maps.
The UN resolution is part of a broader global trend toward decolonizing knowledge, as noted by French historian Romain Tiquet. Many African states are actively working to free their school systems from colonial influence, such as Mali's decision to remove French history from its curriculum in October 2025. This move aims to foster patriotism and strengthen national identity.
Other African countries, like Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, and Kenya, have also adopted similar approaches in their school curriculums. Africa No Filter, a non-profit organization, supports the Correct the Map campaign by challenging harmful narratives about Africa, which could be losing up to $4.2 billion annually due to biased media coverage.
The #NotWaiting campaign seeks to change perceptions of Africa by highlighting positive developments and initiatives, encouraging Africans to take control of their own narratives and contribute to global scholarship with an African perspective.
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