Vision Of The World

Publisher:  Association Québecoise d'Organismes de Coopération Internationale
Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Organization
Cx Number:  CX2458

The Association Québecoise d'Organismes de Coopération Internationale (AQOCI) is a non-profit organization which serves as an umbrella group for another twenty organizations in Québec whose work is related to international development.

Abstract: 
The Association Québecoise d'Organismes de Coopération Internationale (AQOCI) is a non-profit organization which serves as an umbrella group for another twenty organizations in Québec whose work is related to international development. AQOCI has two principal goals: one of these is to serve as a meeting place to discuss the objectives of the member groups who are part of the Association; the other is to promote an education and consciousness-raising campaign within Québec.

Most of today's maps are based on the vision of the world as interpreted by Mercator, a Flemish geographer who in 1569 designed a map which laid the foundations for modern cartography. The New Vision of the World map is designed to shatter the myths which continue to be projected in conventional representations. Designed by German historian and cartographer A. Peters, it is intended for use in high schools, universities, development groups, solidarity groups, etc. It challenges the position accorded to Europe on most maps. Europe appears to be larger than South America whereas in reality South America is nearly twice as large, demonstrating that Europe is given a disproportionate representation in comparison to other land masses. This can be understood from an historical perspective when one considers that the prototype for conventional maps was made by a European at a time when Europe was approaching its peak in exploration and colonization. These conventional representations thus project a vision which places Europe in the center of the world.