A new version of Emojis, 10.0, is due out next June and the committee is currently deliberating over 51 new emojis.
The Unicode Consortium set up a subcommittee which will decide which emojis will be included in this new version. Some of the proposed emojis are a woman wearing a hijab, a vampire, a mermaid, a breastfeeding woman and a couple enjoying a sauna.
Finland has put forward a proposal for national emojis and wants the emoji of a man and woman in a sauna to symbolise the country. This Nordic country is the first in the world to propose its national emojis. Along with sauna, they also proposed a woman flexing her muscles (girl power), socks and a heavy metal headbanger.
Petra Theman, director of public diplomacy for Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “Finland is not known for many things. We don’t have the Eiffel Tower. But we do have the sauna.” She also mentioned that having a national emoji will help raise people’s awareness of Finland and may lead them to visit or learn more about it.
Mark Davis, who is Google’s chief internationalization architect, the President of Unicode consortium and the co-chair of its Emoji Subcommittee, said “We take a conservative approach to adding these.”
Some of the other emojis being considered include- broccoli, coconut, pie, pretzel, and a sandwich- in the food category. Mythical creatures like a fairy, vampire, mermaid, genie, elf, and zombie might make an appearance as well.
Other than that, a grinning smiley face with starry eyes, face with open mouth vomiting, and shocked face with an exploding head are among the new expressions being considered for the new version.
The Unicode Consortium will decide by May 2017. Emojis with maximum votes will be included in the 10.0 version and will be released in June 2017. The Unicode Consortium is made up of more than 100 individuals from tech companies like IBM, Apple, Oracle, and Google.
