Alexis Belliveau, while looking for an emoji of the Acadian flag to use in a social media post promoting his band on National Acadian Day last year, discovered that such an emoji did not exist. Emojis, symbols commonly utilized in text messages and emails to convey emotions, thoughts, and objects, come in various forms, including hundreds of flags.
Belliveau and his friend Julien Robichaud, both residents of Moncton, New Brunswick, are currently in the process of submitting a proposal to Unicode, a California-based non-profit organization responsible for reviewing and approving emoji ideas, to create an Acadian flag emoji. Belliveau stated, “There’s a lot of pride in the Acadian flag. In a digital era, having an emoji to express that pride would be valuable.”
To support their application, Belliveau and Robichaud initiated an online campaign, which includes a website detailing the history and significance of the Acadian flag, along with a petition that has garnered over 10,000 signatures. Belliveau emphasized the importance of community support in strengthening their proposal.
Despite the absence of an official Acadian flag emoji, individuals have been creatively expressing their Acadian heritage using sequences of emojis. Belliveau highlighted various examples and mentioned a potential workaround to Unicode’s regulations by combining existing emojis – the star and the flag of France – for the proposed Acadian flag emoji.
Unicode’s approval guidelines for emojis include factors such as uniqueness, global usability, potential ambiguities, and applicability in sentences. Belliveau aims to raise awareness among Acadians worldwide and intends to formally submit the emoji proposal in the upcoming winter season to ensure global representation and recognition for the Acadian community.