On National Acadian Day last year, Alexis Belliveau, while promoting his band on social media, discovered the absence of an Acadian flag emoji. Emojis, widely used to convey emotions, ideas, and objects in text messages and emails, encompass numerous variations, including various flags.
With a strong sense of pride in the Acadian flag, Belliveau, alongside his friend Julien Robichaud from Moncton, N.B., embarked on a proposal submission to Unicode. Unicode, a non-profit organization headquartered in California, evaluates and sanctions emoji proposals.
Recognizing the importance of digital expression, Belliveau emphasized the significance of having an Acadian flag emoji to symbolize cultural identity. To amplify their proposal, Belliveau and Robichaud initiated an online campaign featuring a historical overview of Acadians, the flag’s symbolism, and a petition with over 10,000 signatures.
Despite the current absence of an Acadian flag emoji, Belliveau highlighted the community’s resilience in expressing Acadian pride through inventive emoji sequences. Unicode’s regulations stipulate that an emoji request may be rejected if a similar concept is already represented by existing sequences. However, Belliveau remains optimistic, citing a potential workaround utilizing a combination of the star and the flag of France emojis.
Unicode’s approval criteria include the uniqueness of the emoji, its global usability, potential multiple interpretations, and integration into sentences. Belliveau is actively disseminating information to Acadians worldwide and aims to formally submit the proposal in the upcoming winter season.
In his outreach efforts, Belliveau intends to engage Acadians globally, spanning regions like Louisiana, France, Quebec, and throughout Canada, acknowledging the widespread presence of Acadian communities worldwide.