Colin Sheridan: 'Correct the Map' initiative shows there are different perspectives on the world

Earlier this month, the UN passed a resolution entitled 'Correct the Map', part of an African-led campaign which argues that presenting Africa on a world map as smaller than it really is has consequences beyond the geography classroom

To help sailors navigate enormous distances using a compass, Gerardus Mercator's projection allowed a course of constant compass bearing to appear as a straight line on a map. Picture: iStock

Greenland is enormous. Or at least it is on the world map most of us grew up looking at. 

There, suspended above Europe and Canada, it appears roughly comparable in size to Africa. It isn't. You could fit Greenland into Africa about 14 times.