On September 4, the UN General Assembly voted to nudge the world away from the Mercator map - the one that's made Africa look smaller than it really is since 1569 - toward equal-area alternatives like Equal Earth. It's a win years in the making for the African Union, which has long pushed back against a map that shrinks the equator to inflate the poles.

But this isn't really about cartography. Africa has 54 UN votes, will house a quarter of humanity by 2050, and sits on the minerals powering the clean energy race, yet it still has no permanent seat at the UN Security Council and remains underrepresented in international organizations. A new map won't fix that. But could it change how the world sees Africa?

Credit List:

Executive Producers: Sun Lan, Wang Haiyang
Planning Editor: Matthias Muindi
Reporter: Robert Nagila
Digital Producer: Tracy Omballa
Cameraman: Eric Mukenga
Creative Designer: Bemnet Goitom
Graphic Designer: Edwin Ondiek