Finland presents its proposal for a forgiveness emoji

Forgivemoji, a campaign launched by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland to find suitable emojis for forgiveness, has found its final candidate.

Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland between 2000 and 2012, has selected a winning candidate from hundreds of design ideas among the audience proposals. The emoji consists on two hands with thumbs up and a heart in the background. 

According to the President, the design highlights the positive side of forgiveness and its peace-building effect.

"The climate of discussion often is very polarized. I would like to see in the online conversations more empathy and moderation, as well as a willingness to recognize own mistakes. Currently, emojis are an inseparable element of communication between people and, for that reason, the world needs an emoji that says: 'I forgive you'," said Halonen in a release.

May be ready by autumn 2021

Now Unicode, the consortium managing the emoji list, who provides the framework for services and device manufacturers to use them, will decide if the Forgivemoji will be included as part of the official selection, which is updated annually.

If the emoji meets the Unicode criteria, which analyze the need for emojis, how widely they should be used, and how easy it is to interpret, the different device manufacturers and service providers will modify the design to suit their particular use.

The closest possible date on which the emoji may be available to the public is by the fall of 2021, as Unicode updates its emoji selection once a year.