On National Acadian Day last year, Alexis Belliveau discovered the absence of an Acadian flag emoji while searching for one to use in a social media post promoting his band. Emojis, symbols conveying emotions and ideas, come in various forms, including flags. Belliveau and his friend Julien Robichaud from Moncton, N.B., are in the process of proposing the creation of an Acadian flag emoji to Unicode, a California-based non-profit organization that evaluates and approves emoji suggestions.
Expressing the significance of the Acadian flag in the digital realm, Belliveau emphasized the importance of having an emoji to represent it. He believes that introducing the emoji can engage younger generations in Acadian heritage. To strengthen their submission, Belliveau and Robichaud initiated an online campaign featuring a website detailing Acadian history, the flag’s symbolism, and a petition with over 10,000 signatures.
Despite the absence of an official Acadian flag emoji, Belliveau mentioned that individuals have been showcasing their Acadian pride by using various emoji sequences. To address Unicode’s criteria for approving emojis, Belliveau highlighted that their proposed emoji combines existing emojis – a star and the flag of France, creating a unique representation.
Unicode’s approval guidelines encompass factors like distinctiveness, global usage frequency, potential multiple meanings, and applicability in sentences. Belliveau is actively spreading awareness among Acadians worldwide and plans to formally submit the proposal in the upcoming winter, aiming for global representation of Acadian culture.