The Paris 2024 Organising Committee -- which will organise the next Olympic and Paralympic Games -- on Tuesday submitted an official proposal to the Unicode Consortium requesting the addition of four Para sports emojis to this now-universal language.
The initiative, which is supported by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), French National Paralympic Committee (CNPSF) and numerous French and International Olympians and Paralympians, seeks to increase the representation and inclusion of people with disabilities through sport.
A proposal for the addition of four Para sports -- Blind Football, Para Athletics, Para Swimming and Wheelchair Tennis -- was submitted to the Unicode Consortium on Tuesday, the final day for submissions in 2021. It comes midway through the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The proposal aims to give Para sport athletes the visibility and recognition they deserve while raising awareness to drive further change in attitudes towards disability.
Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said: "Paris 2024 is convinced that sport can be a powerful driver of social inclusion, self-acceptance and openness to others. It's crucial that our incredible champions with disabilities are represented in this universal language."
The emoji project reflects Paris 2024's commitment to bring the same level of ambition to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the same spectacular venues and, for the first time, a common emblem across both Games.
Le Fur, President of the French National Paralympic Committee (CNPSF) and a Tokyo 2020 silver medallist in Long Jump (T64), said: "I congratulate Paris 2024 on this fantastic initiative. Emojis really are a reflection of society and have become a wholly universal language, used by millions of people worldwide. Hopefully, Para sports will soon have their own digital identity, which is so much more important that we might think."
( With inputs from ANI )
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