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De Facto recommends

De Facto Goes South

De Facto was never as close to a border as this week: on November 12, we will travel to Maastricht (NL) for our newest edition of Off the Map. Art, science, stamps and a quiz - all about borders. Join us!

10 Nov 2025

  • Europe
  • Event
  • Maps
  • Art
  • Politics
  • Academia

De Facto recommends

Dutch Mountain Film Festival

Films, exhibitions, workshops and outdoor activities: visit the Dutch Mountain Film Festival, from 4-9 November in the South of the Netherlands.

Dutch Mountain Film Festival | 3 Nov 2025

  • Europe
  • Maps
  • Nature

In focus

Correct the Map

What is the true size of Africa? The ‘Correct The Map’ campaign revives the debate about the distorted Mercator projection and calls the world to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which reflects countries’ sizes more accurately.

25 Aug 2025

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Pacific
  • Maps

De Facto recommends

Where's the Dutch Border?

The standard ‘design’ of the Dutch borderline is often seen as a self-evident representation. Yet this abstract form in no way reflects the geographical, social, and political reality. How can we rethink and redesign the representation of the multiplicity of Dutch borders? A workshop by designer and researcher Annelys de Vet and Professor of Geopolitics and Political Geography Henk van Houtum.

Framer Framed | 23 Jun 2025

  • Maps
  • Politics
  • Design

Analysis Bir Tawil

Ever Wonder Why Africa’s Borders Appear So Strange?

From winding borders to straight lines and landlocked nations, Al Jazeera explores the stories behind Africa’s map. From Bir Tawil to Cabinda to the Caprivi strip: a visual explainer of some of the continent’s most unusual borders.

Al Jazeera | 23 Feb 2025

  • Africa
  • Maps

Analysis

Gulf of Whatnow?

Map lines are inherently political. After all, they’re representations of the places that are important to human beings — and those priorities can be delicate and contentious, even more so in a globalized world where multiple nations often share the same maps. Trump’s geographic renaming plans leave mapmakers pondering what to do next.

AP | 23 Jan 2025

  • Americas
  • Politics
  • Maps

Analysis Spratly Islands

Why the Philippines made a dramatic turnaround on the question of archipelagos in the law of the sea

And strangely enough, it means China and the Philippines have traded positions.

The Lowy Institute | 19 Nov 2024

  • Asia
  • South China Sea
  • Maps

News Puntland

Somalia’s federal map sparks rift with Puntland and Hirshabelle over disputed territories

A map unveiled by Somalia’s federal government during a recent ceremony in Mogadishu has sparked a backlash from Puntland and Hirshabelle, two key federal states.

Hiiraan Online | 29 Oct 2024

  • Africa
  • Maps

De Facto recommends

Ukraine in historical maps

The war against Ukraine did not start in February 2022, but in the spring of 2014. And the root of the invasions goes back in time even more, as they were a delayed response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and earlier territorial claims. The online exhibition Borderlands - Ukraine in Historical Maps - with numerous maps and short commentaries, aims to shed some light on the historical backgrounds of the present war of Russia against Ukraine. It was curated by historian Harrie Teunissen and map curator Martijn Storms.

University Leiden | 11 Apr 2024

  • Europe
  • Maps
  • History

News Paracel Islands

Studio defends Barbie movie after controversial map prompts Vietnam ban

Warner Bros says map is ‘child-like’ after Vietnam accused film-makers of depicting China’s nine-dash line in South China Sea.

The Guardian | 7 Jul 2023

  • South China Sea
  • Asia
  • Film
  • Maps

Analysis Falkland Islands

Falklands’ War Mapping Project expected to begin this month at Mount Tumbledown

Waterloo Uncovered, the groundbreaking charity that combines archaeology with veteran care and recovery, will be visiting the Falkland Islands this month to begin the first intensive archaeological survey of its battlefields.

MercoPress | 24 Mar 2022

  • Americas
  • Maps
  • History

Analysis Western Sahara

The Western Sahara Issue Is Souring Morocco’s Relations With Europe

Maps have long played a crucial, symbolic role in the dispute over the Western Sahara. For years, because most world maps available elsewhere show the international border that separates Morocco from its coveted territory to the south, those that were sold in Morocco had to be separately manufactured for the domestic market, affecting everything from globes and atlases to toy puzzles and address books.

WORLD POLITICS REVIEW | 13 Jan 2022

  • Africa
  • Maps

News

Ukraine’s Euro 2020 football kit provokes outrage in Russia

A new kit for Ukraine’s football team, showing a map including Russian-annexed Crimea, has provoked anger in Moscow.

BBC | 7 Jun 2021

  • Sports
  • Maps
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