CARTE DE L'AFRIQUE TRUQUÉE : COMMENT L'OCCIDENT NOUS A MENTI PENDANT DES SIÈCLES (AMZAT B.YABARA)

Join this channel to benefit from exclusive advantages:    / @decrypterlafrique   This is a fascinating and essential topic in our collective history: the representation of the world, and more specifically Africa's place on the map, and, to some extent, on the global stage. Because it's not just about geography, but also about politics, culture, and memory. For centuries, the world maps we've been taught, displayed in schools, or broadcast by the media have not faithfully reflected the reality of the continents. Africa, which is immense, covering more than 30 million km2, often appears reduced, shrunken, even though it is large enough to contain the USA, China, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Peru, all combined. While Europe and North America appear disproportionately enlarged compared to their actual size, this is not a simple technical error: it is the result of a choice, of a system of representation that has contributed to shaping power relations. This misrepresentation is the Mercator projection, used since the 16th century to facilitate navigation, and which is still found on current maps. On August 14, an important step was taken: the African Union officially lent its support to the "Correct the Map" campaign, which aims to correct this distortion and promote a world map that is more faithful to the reality of the territories. Behind this symbolic gesture is a real cultural and political battle, which we will discuss today with our distinguished guest: historian, writer, and Pan-Africanist activist Amzat Boukari-Yabara.