When Alexis Belliveau sought an Acadian flag emoji to use in a social media post for National Acadian Day, he discovered it didn’t exist. Emojis, symbols conveying emotions and ideas in text messages, include numerous flags. Belliveau and Julien Robichaud from Moncton, N.B., are preparing a proposal for an Acadian flag emoji to Unicode, a California-based non-profit reviewing and endorsing emoji suggestions. Belliveau emphasized the significance of expressing Acadian pride digitally through an emoji, especially for youth engaging with Acadian culture.
To bolster their submission, Belliveau and Robichaud initiated an online campaign featuring the history and significance of Acadians, alongside a petition with over 10,000 signatures. Belliveau stressed the importance of community support to strengthen their application’s credibility. Despite the absence of an official Acadian flag emoji, individuals creatively use emoji combinations to demonstrate Acadian pride. Unicode may reject emoji proposals if similar concepts are expressed by existing sequences; however, Belliveau believes a potential workaround by combining the star and the French flag emojis.
Unicode’s approval criteria for emojis encompass uniqueness, global utility, versatility in usage, and integration into sentences. Belliveau is actively spreading awareness among Acadians worldwide and aims to formally submit the proposal in the upcoming winter season. He expressed intentions to reach out to Acadian communities globally, including those in Louisiana, France, Quebec, and throughout Canada.