联合国大会将于本周五投票表决一项由多哥政府提出的决议，拟正式停用使用了四百多年的麦卡托地图投影，改采能够更准确展现各大陆真实面积的地图方案。1该提案已获得非洲联盟全部54个成员国的支持，目标在于纠正国际教育和技术领域中长期存在的地理认知偏差。1多哥外交部长罗伯特·杜塞表示，"这是科学讨论而非政治讨论"，并强调"现在改变这一现状的时候到了"。1
麦卡托地图投影由佛兰德制图师杰拉德·墨卡托在1569年创制，其在海洋航行中的实用性使其沿用至今。1然而该投影方式严重扭曲了陆地面积的相对比例——以非洲为例，在麦卡托地图上，非洲的大小与格陵兰岛相近，但实际上非洲大陆面积是格陵兰的14倍。1多哥政府建议采用2018年由国际制图师团队设计的Equal Earth地图投影作为替代方案。1
虽然联合国决议本身不具强制性约束力，但若投票通过，可能推动全球教育课程和主流地图技术的更新。1多哥政府已计划在明年第一季度于洛美与联合国教科文组织、非洲联盟和谷歌地图等科技品牌共同举办推进活动。1此外，#CorrectTheMap运动在请愿网站Change.org上已积累超过11000个签名。1
The United Nations General Assembly will vote Friday on a resolution to formally discontinue the use of the Mercator map projection in favor of more accurate cartographic representations 1. The proposal, sponsored by Togo and backed by all 54 member states of the African Union, aims to address geographical distortions that have persisted in international education and technology 1.
The Mercator projection, introduced in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, significantly misrepresents landmass sizes, particularly in equatorial regions 1. Under this projection, Africa appears comparable in size to Greenland, though the African continent is actually 14 times larger 1. Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey characterized the initiative as "a scientific discussion, not a political one," asserting that "the time has come to change this situation" 1. The proposed alternative is the Equal Earth map, designed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers 1.
While UN resolutions are not legally binding, approval could prompt updates across educational curricula and technology platforms 1. A supporting campaign, #CorrectTheMap, has garnered over 11,000 signatures on Change.org 1. Should the vote succeed, Togo plans to host a coordinating event in Lomé during the first quarter of next year with UNESCO, the African Union, and technology companies including Google Maps 1.
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