I have had a few people email me to helpfully point out that the Unicode Consortium, the organisation who regulate and code emojis do not accept petitions. I am grateful for them for taking the time to point this out, I have read the Unicode Consortium guidelines and do understand this. I have also been asked by some businesses if I could show them a plan for the petition and what the emoji would mean
A St Piran emoji can be used in text and social media across a wide number of platforms including: Apple,Google,Android,FaceBook, Windows,GMail and What’sApp.
The petition is part of a report to be submitted to the Unicode Consortium who are based in California to show the support in Kernow for a St Piran emoji. The petition which will be launched shortly, already has the support of Kernows MPs, Cornwall Council, Visit Cornwall, Cornwall RFU and the Cornish Pirates and I am in conversation with other clubs and well known Cornish brands to get their support.
The petition is important as there is a need to show to the consortium that the proposed St Piran emoji will have popular support.The number of signatures and the organisations backing the petition will form part of the basis of why Kernow should have an emoji.
The overall number of signatures from the petition will be included in a report that explains Kernow’s history, it’s constitutional status and the history and importance of the St Piran flag in Kernow and the role it plays in Cornish life,culture and commerce. The report will be presented at the next round of submissions to the Unicode Consortium which start on the 15th April.
The submission to the Unicode Consortium has to satisfy a number of criteria including.
1.Can it fit into the existing coding? I have been told by a friend who knows a lot more about coding than I do that this should be quite straightforward.
2. The emoji cannot be a county or regional flag. This will be dealt with in the submission about Kernow’s history and status.
3. Will it have much usage? The number of signatures on the petition will show how much support and use the emoji could expect.
4.Does the emoji have different uses?
To answer this question we intended to show that a Cornish emoji will have a number of uses.
It can be used by people in a general day to day use. It can be used in sport for example by fans of Cornish rugby teams to show their support for their team. In commerce for the many businesses in Kernow who use their Cornish identity as part of their branding. Finally for the huge number of visitors the Duchy receives every year who could use it on their social media to tag their visit to the Duchy.
We will also be looking into the feasibility of producing a second submission in Cornish to highlight Kernow’s uniqueness and distinctive culture.
It’s quite fortunate that the next round of submissions start in April, the application process to the consortium is quite long and in places technical and if the submission is rejected it can be two years before we are allowed to resubmit it so this gives us time to consult with people who can help with the process and put together the strongest case we can for Cornish inclusion.
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