Two Moncton residents, Alexis Belliveau and Julien Robichaud, are pushing for the creation of an Acadian flag emoji after Belliveau couldn’t find one while promoting his band on National Acadian Day. They are preparing a proposal to present to Unicode, a California-based non-profit organization that reviews and approves emoji ideas. Belliveau emphasized the significance of an Acadian flag emoji in expressing cultural pride and engaging younger generations with Acadian heritage.
To support their initiative, Belliveau and Robichaud have launched an online campaign featuring a brief history of Acadians, the symbolism of the flag, and a petition with over 10,000 signatures. Despite the absence of an official Acadian flag emoji, people have been creatively using emoji sequences to showcase their Acadian identity. Belliveau discovered a potential workaround for Unicode’s guidelines by combining existing emojis like the star and the flag of France for the proposed Acadian flag emoji.
Unicode’s criteria for approving emojis include uniqueness, global usage potential, versatility in conveying meanings, and compatibility within sentences. Belliveau aims to garner support from Acadians worldwide and intends to submit the proposal in the coming winter, reaching out to Acadian communities in Louisiana, France, Quebec, and across Canada.
