Why maps make Africa smaller

0:00Hello there and welcome to Focus on Africa, I am Kechi Obunna in Lagos, Nigeria. The United States is the only country that voted against a UN resolution to modify the current world map and project Africa's true size. But what would it take for the global adoption of this new map? We just need to get the right tools in people's hands. It's not like we're asking people to go and buy, there's free resources. You can download this map, it's been around for years. All we've done is draw an attention to this, to say there is a solution to correct this thing and it's cheap, in some cases it's free. And a BBC investigation looks at some school girls on a quest to pursue their education, following a mass school kidnapping that interrupted their journey five years ago. What does the completion of a full school year mean for them? They're both very resilient, they're both very keen to give back to their communities

1:00and pay it forward because they were supported by people that didn't know them and they want other people to be able to benefit from the knowledge that they gain. And that's really heartwarming because a lot of these types of stories about kidnapped, you don't necessarily get a happy ending. So this is a really heartwarming story. It's Monday, September 7th. That was the UN General Assembly on Friday endorsing a new world map that shows Africa's

2:11size more accurately. The correct the map resolution was sponsored by Togo and backed by the African Union members. It was passed with the support of 164 nations including France and the UK. The US was the only nation to vote against it while there were six abstentions. At the UN headquarters in New York, Togo's foreign minister, Robert Ducey, described the decision as a historic moment for Africa and the world. This adoption comes as the historic moment for Africa and for the world. And a firm says they need for a more accurate, more balanced and more geographically faithful representation of our planet. Certain productions used for centuries and decades for very Africa and all the regions of the world in ways that do not reflect their actual landmass.

3:15Correcting the map, therefore, also means correcting a perception. Now, the UN vote is non-binding but will see changes to the maps used by institutions around the world. The resolution is encouraging global institutions to move away from the familiar Mechatomap and use the Equality as projection instead, one that gives a more accurate picture of the size of countries and continents. The Mechatomap which has been in common use since the 16th century has been criticized for depicting Africa as being similar in size to Greenland even though it is actually 14 times larger. Supporters argue that the way Africa has been represented on maps for centuries has influenced how the continent is perceived. So why did the US oppose the resolution? We hear from Ambassador Tibor Nagi, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President Trump's first stem. He spoke on our BBC Newsday program, Elea.

4:16I have no idea it makes no sense whatsoever. It is, in my view, a huge own goal. The reasons that were given in the statement that the United States made to justify the vote makes absolutely no sense. I had to laugh when they said that it's a distraction from important issues when much of the United States government spent last week trying to justify the renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America and then to say that it's part of a much larger or more radical ideological project is absolutely just laughable. They say that it's one of the things that makes the United Nations lose credibility. I disagree vehemently. It's one of the things that the UN does that actually adds to its credibility, unfortunately. But why does the new map matter? And just how different is Africa's true size from what we see on traditional Mechatomaps? I spoke with Mokimakura, executive director of Africa, No Filter. But first, last year from some young Africans across the continent.

5:20People can actually have a sheet of Africa for what it is. I'm not referring to it as just one country. A map is more than just geography. A map for me is a narrative. And narratives shape policy, the shape investment decisions and ambitions of young people to be precise. Want to start by getting your reaction to the UN vote? What did you make of it? Well, excitement, I would say, is a huge part of how I felt because it was nearly two years of work to get to that point. It was almost unanimous 164 countries voted in our favour and you cannot be anything but pleased. And why does the way Africa is represented on world maps matter? Why is this a subject for conversation? I think there's two very clear themes around this. One is the symbolic part of it and the other is the practical part. The symbolic part is, first of all, 54 countries. African countries came together because we first four signed an AU resolution and then

6:21we took it to the UN and it shows that when we get together as a continent behind a single issue and we all agree things happen because a world takes you seriously. And I think the second symbolic part to this is that this map, and we've been looking at for over 400 years, it's been wrong. We changed that. We got the world to agree to use a new map for us, a new projection. And to me, that means that we've asked the world to take a fresh look at Africa. That's actually the most important thing because we've been looking at Africa in the wrong way for such a long time. What else have we taken for granted? What else do we not know about the continent? And this resolution, this global moment we had, is asking the world to look at us differently. And those are the symbolic parts of it. But the practical aspect to me is one very clear and very simple. The map that we were using for 400 years was wrong. Factually wrong. The one we're asking you to use now is right because we want to make sure our children, the education system, our schools, our teaching, our children the right thing.

7:22And that's why for me, it's very important. Right. And we also saw that the US voted against this decision. It was actually the only country who voted against this resolution. In fact, the US representative to the UN, a Yareena Ferrenvich, said instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace and all of that, it's promoting an ideological agenda which makes the UN lose its credibility. Instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace, prosperity, or good relations, this body is debating map projects from the 16th century and their role in promoting reparations and cognitive justice. Resolutions like this one and the ideological agenda they promote are barnacles on our work here and the reason this institution is losing its credibility. What's your reaction to these comments? I think it's ironic that the country talking about peace and things like that is the one that is doing a lot of things in the world right now.

8:23I mean, to be honest, this thing about ideology, there's a certain part of it is about ideology because I've talked about the symbolic aspect of this. See us differently. But more importantly, this UN credibility, I mean, it's about correcting something that's wrong. So how is that ideological? So for me, it's not even an argument worth engaging with. The point is the map projection was wrong, it showed a continent in the wrong scale, everybody agrees with that. There's no old you agree or not. It is a fact. So it feels pointless to argue with something that's not fact-based. Right. Morky, what would you say to critics who argue that Africa faces much more pressing challenges than the design of world maps? I mean, I agree. A world map is not the most important thing, but it's important. And my argument is that it's not either or. It's not that we're not going to sort out some of the challenges we have every country, it has challenges, every continent has challenges because we're now all focused on the map.

9:24Nobody has to do anything on the map. We just have to download press and button, download the right map, get your publishers to print the right maps and books. It's not like we're taking people's attention away from doing important work, building infrastructure, doing all the things that we need done under continent. So it's not either or. It is both. It's low-hanging fruit for us. It is something that we can easily rectify because there was a solution to it. We knew there was a problem. The solution was designed in 2018, the Equal Earth projection. And we're now in 2026, always saying, is you something that's there. It's a very simple thing. It doesn't take anybody away from their day job. And that's the point that I really want to make. So people who are saying, oh, but we have other important things to do, we will still be doing those things. You spoke of the Equal Earth projection. Now, what concrete steps will be taken to encourage the adoption of the Equal Earth projection, especially because the resolution is non-binding. I think people also forget that in February this year, we also got an African Union resolution,

10:26which means the 55 nations that are members of the African Union also agreed collectively to implement this in their schools and to use the right projection. So this is not something that's happening now because we're in September because the UN has agreed it. We need to do it step by step. Yes, education ministers need to actually draft policies that force at least government schools to take action. And you know, schools should be able to start. And it takes something like a company that's doing a PowerPoint with the world projected on it. You go into an office and there's a map of the world behind them. We just need to get the right tools in people's hands. It's not like we're asking people to go and buy. There's three resources. You can download this map. It's been around for years. All we've done is drawn attention to this to say there is a solution to correct this thing and it's cheap. In some cases, it's free. The challenge will be where their all textbooks may have this wrong projection. We need to make sure new textbooks are printed with the right projection. It's over time. We'll do it. But I think the policy to encourage all government schools in countries in Africa to actually

11:31make sure that they're taking steps to use the right projection should start today. But I'm sitting here and I'm wondering, can correct in the way Africa is depicted on maps help address some of these broader issues which cut across representation, influence, political or economic or even cultural attitudes towards the continent? One of the things that I think is important about this moment, this UDN resolution, was that it really made Africa an African stand a little bit taller, a little bit prouder. You know, because if for years the world hasn't really taken us seriously, we brought a challenge to the world and they backed us. For me, it's important that people see it equally as symbolic, but also the practical aspect that it does make a difference. It should make a difference because we have asked the world to see us differently and they have. They voted 165 countries voted to say yes, we agree. And you'll see some things on social media that will tell you that, you know, what else? In fact, that's something we say, what else is the world seeing wrong about us?

12:32If you look at all the stories that are told about us, is that we are broken continent because everything seems to me fixing that we lack the agency to create the change we want to see. And the third is that we're dependent, but I think that agency argument that we don't seem to be able to do things ourselves has been dispelled with this resolution because we did do something. And no matter how insignificant people think it is, this thing went to the United Nations and a boat was taken. And that is a clear indication that as Africans we have agency to create change. Many thanks to Mokimakura, Executive Director of Africa, No Filter. This is focus on Africa from the BBC World Service. We now move to Nigeria, which is one of the highest numbers of out of school children in the world. The UN says about 19 million kids who should be getting an education and missing out. One of the factors behind this is the threat of school abductions, which means some parents

13:34are too scared to send their children to class. Five years ago, armed gunmen raided a school in Zamfara, northwestern Nigeria. It devastated the lives of hundreds of girls. Things that were taken were released after several terrifying days in captivity, but their school remained closed, robbing them of an education and the future. Following a BBC Africa Eye Programme featuring the incident, a donor agreed to form the education of several of the girls. The BBC's Yemisi Adegoke went to Guzou in northwestern Nigeria to meet two young people who've overcome the odds after an armed bandit attack. Anato and Umu shared with her how this has changed their lives and allowed them to chase their dreams for a better future. But first, the Yemisi takes us back to five years ago when the attack happened. In 2021, in Janga Bay, in Zamfara State, nearly 300 girls were abducted from their

14:45boarding school by armed men. They were later released and it was denied by the government that they paid a ransom. But after the girls were released, the school remained closed for a while, so the educational trajectory of a lot of those girls was changed. Tell us about the girls you met while covering the story because you went back a bit. The girls that we spoke to were originally featured in a previous BBC Africa Eye documentary called The Bandit War Lords of Zamfara. And that film basically gave us an insight into how these bandit gangs plan and carry out their raids. And Anato and Umu, who we spoke to, their school was attacked. And in the previous film, we spoke to them about what they'd experienced. Let's look at it again. We're going to go on. We had gunshots. We were crying for help. Shouting, here comes the bandits. We ran and locked ourselves in the toilets, about five of us.

15:46We were about 350 students in the school, but only 32 of us escaped. I heard the man's voice shouting, come out or I will kill you. I was thinking they would kill us. And this time we wanted to find out how their lives have changed and how they've moved on from that ordeal and pieced their lives back together. And how are they coping with the experience that they went through? What did they tell you? I mean, it was a really tough thing to go through. And I think both girls have come really far. Anato and Umu were able to return to school. Some viewers watched the previous documentary and wanted to contribute to their education. So through the support of an NGO, they were able to go back to school. And Anato, she's just finished secondary school. She was on the verge of graduating when we met her. She wants to go on to be a doctor. In many ways, she's a really typical teenager.

16:47Love's BTS and K-dramas and all of that. And Umu is now a university and she's studying early childhood education. I want to be educated so I can help people the way I have been helped. I want God to grant me the ability to help people. My mom and other people in need, that's what I want. They both say that they're really happy and excited for the future, but the memories and the trauma of what they experienced still part of them. Did they say how returning back to school, what it meant for them and still pursuing their dreams? I mean, she's saying she wants to be a doctor. And all of that, what has that done for them in their pursuit for a better education? It was really important to the girls to go back to school. In the previous film, Anato spoke about the fact that she wasn't afraid to go back to school. She enjoyed school a lot. And their lives changed dramatically.

17:48They both were able to go to a better secondary school, one that was more secure, smaller class sizes, so they got a lot of kind of focus and attention. And now they're both really keen to give back to their communities. Umu has been able to go back home and help kids in her community with English. And Tovia from the foundation that sort of helped them get back into school has told us about the importance of education within these communities, particularly for girls. When these communities see that these girls can go on and be educated and graduate and pursue these dreams, it inspires them and they want their children to also be able to retain that type of success. When you're not educated, you don't have a choice, you don't have a C in how your life, the cost of your life. For example, if they say, oh, you need to get married, at that point, you don't even understand what marriage entails. I haven't come in contact with them recently. When you compare how they look, how they speak, how they sound,

18:50what would you say if any has been the difference from the last encounter and now? I think that they're much more confident in the last film. I mean, I think they were still very much in the early stages of trying to deal with the trauma of what they've experienced. I think now they're more confident. Now they're learning English. I think they're more confident in trying to communicate in English. And yeah, they just seem a lot happier and excited for the future. Is there something that stories tell us about the longer term impact of school attacks on children in Northern Nigeria? And even kidnapping incidents? It's a really frightening reality what's happening in Nigeria right now. The country already has one of the highest rates of our school children in the world. So these types of attacks are a really devastating blow on the education sector. In Zanfara, I learned there are half a million kids out of school and insecurity is contributing to that number.

19:55Parents are genuinely terrified of sending their kids to school. And the potential implications of this. I mean, one of the experts that we spoke to said that this could potentially affect a generation of school kids. And that's really frightening when you think about those numbers and what those adults would essentially be doing without an education. And these types of things always hit girls hardest, which has its own knock on effect. So it's a really frightening situation that needs to be gotten on the control quite quickly. And despite everything they have experienced, what struck you the most when you saw them? And what do you hope that audiences would take away from both Hanatu and Umu's stories? I mean, both girls are obviously very resilient, the fact that they both returned to school. Hanatu had a period of illness where she had to stay away from school for quite a long time. But you know, she still came back. They're both very resilient. They're both very keen to give back to their communities and pay it forward because they were supported by people that did know them.

21:01And they want other people to be able to benefit from the knowledge that they gain. And that's really heartwarming because a lot of these types of stories about kidnapped don't necessarily get a happy ending. So this is a really heartwarming story. But you know, these girls are also still really concerned about their families and relatives. Many of them still live in parts of the state that aren't safe. So their stories are real sort of beacon of hope. But at the same time, you know, there are lots of children who won't necessarily get those opportunities. So it's a kind of bittersweet situation. But you know, the hope is that it would draw more attention to the issue of kidnapping and let people know that this is something that's really serious and does really need to get under control because you know, the future of young Nigerians really depends on it. For more on this story, you can watch Global Eye on BBC 2 tonight at 7pm or on BBC Eye Player and the BBC World Service YouTube channel. And the message on Focus on Africa today. If you'd like to give us feedback about the program or suggest stories we should cover, the best way to find us is through our email, which is focus on Africa at bbc.co.uk.

22:17You can also send us a message on WhatsApp. The number is plus 254 791 269 243. You can get in touch with me on social media at I am on KC and that's with Dublin. Now this episode was produced by Kee Ganssays Shumba and Bella Twine in Nairobi. Blessing at Derraba was the senior journalist in charge. David Kinion-Jui is the technical producer, while our editors are Daniel Dazie and Mariam Abdullah. I am on KC Obun and I'll speak to you again soon. Thank you.