The SA Nature Reserve is running a campaign to include the protea, South Africa's national flower, in the list of global emojis. The reserve has submitted an official proposal to the Unicode Consortium—the organization responsible for determining which emojis will be included in the global keyboard.
This step is driven not only by the desire to add a cute symbol but also by more serious reasons. The protea is the national flower of South Africa and one of the most iconic species in the Cape Floral Kingdom, which is considered one of the world's richest floral kingdoms, despite its small size. These plants grow almost exclusively in southern Africa and have evolved in this region over millions of years.
However, proteas are under threat. Approximately half of the protea species in the country face extinction risk due to habitat loss, invasive plants, changes in fire regimes, agricultural activities, and urban development.
The team behind this initiative hopes that the appearance of this flower in the universal emoji list will draw the attention of millions of people to this unique plant, which in turn may spark discussions about its conservation methods. The emoji approval process is complex: the Unicode Consortium assesses whether there is convincing evidence that people recognize, search for, and use the symbol.
To demonstrate public interest, The Wild Rescue is urging people to learn more about proteas and the Cape Floral Kingdom. Executive Director Gill Simpson notes: 'If enough people start talking about proteas—not just as flowers, but as symbols of one of Earth's remarkable biospheres—then the floral bouquet of global keyboards will find a place for them.'
She added: 'It is time for South Africa's national flower to find its place in the world's digital lexicon. Raising awareness and appreciation will help protect our fynbos natural habitats and contribute to simple actions that can have a profound impact: such as adopting eco-friendly habits, refraining from picking these wild flowers, and planting native gardens.'
In the author's view, raising awareness often precedes conservation, as the more people know about something, the higher the likelihood they will care for its protection. The possibility of completing a proud statement about South Africa with the protea symbol instead of a generic flower is certainly welcome.
The Unicode consortium plans to release the Emoji 18.0 update in the coming months, covering mobile and computer keyboards globally. This new package not only expands users' visual communication options but also standardizes old icons that caused interpretation discrepancies between different operating systems.
Version 18.0 introduces six new figures. Among them are the 'Cracked Smiling Face,' used to express chaotic situations while maintaining digital composure; the 'Lighthouse,' symbolizing direction and light; and the 'Eraser,' representing starting something from scratch. Furthermore, the gesture tab will receive thumbs pointing right and left, useful for side emphasis in conversations, and the 'Net with Handle,' which represents collecting or capturing something.
In addition to additions, the update focuses on resolving design fragmentation issues. Jennifer Daniel, president of the Unicode emoji subcommittee, mentioned that different systems drew the same code in distinct ways, which will be corrected. For example, the 'Comet' will be displayed uniformly as a blue ice trail across all platforms. The representation of 'rock on fire' will gain an official code as 'Meteor.'
In the food category, the 'Cucumber' will maintain its vegetable classification across all devices, while the 'Pickle' will receive a dedicated code, serving both to identify the food and to indicate being in trouble (reference to the expression 'in a pickle'). The 'Butterfly' was also revised: previously, it appeared as a blue species (Morpho) or orange (Monarch) depending on the device. Now, the Monarch has its own emoji, carrying a meaning related to resilience and resistance.
