On National Acadian Day last year, Alexis Belliveau was on a quest for an Acadian flag emoji to include in a social media post promoting his band. To his surprise, such an emoji did not exist. Emojis, which are commonly used in text messages and emails to convey emotions, ideas, and objects, encompass a vast array of symbols, including numerous flags.
Hailing from Moncton, N.B., Belliveau and his companion Julien Robichaud are currently in the process of preparing a proposal for the development of an Acadian flag emoji to be presented to Unicode. Unicode, a nonprofit organization headquartered in California, specializes in evaluating and endorsing emoji concept submissions.
According to Belliveau, the Acadian flag holds significant pride and importance within the community. In the digital realm, the ability to express this pride through an emoji would be highly appreciated. He also believes that introducing an Acadian flag emoji would engage younger generations in the Acadian heritage.
To bolster their application, Belliveau and Robichaud launched an online campaign, which features a brief history of the Acadian people, the symbolism of the flag, and a petition with over 10,000 signatures. Belliveau emphasizes the importance of garnering widespread support to reinforce the viability of their proposal.
Despite the absence of an official Acadian flag emoji, people have found ways to exhibit their Acadian pride using various sequences of emojis. Belliveau has identified a workaround to Unicode’s regulations by proposing an emoji that combines existing symbols, specifically the star and the flag of France.
Unicode’s criteria for approving an emoji encompass factors such as uniqueness, global usage frequency, versatility in conveying meanings, and compatibility within sentences. Belliveau is actively spreading awareness among Acadians worldwide and intends to formally submit the proposal in the upcoming winter season.
His outreach efforts extend to Acadian communities across the globe, including Louisiana, France, Quebec, and all regions of Canada, recognizing the widespread presence of Acadians worldwide.
