To celebrate World Emoji Day on Saturday, Emojipedia is all set to launch a series of new inclusive emojis.

According to a draft list by the Unicode Consortium, which is in charge of approving emojis and icons for use, the emojis which will hit phones over the next year include designs like a pregnant man and a multiracial handshake.

This update is part of the consortium’s bid to complete their emoji sets by offering not just feminine and masculine, but also gender-neutral variants of every available emoji.

The emojis will feature a selection of skin tones and also have representation for trans and nonbinary pregnancies, with two new gender variants being made available for the “pregnant woman” emoji. &nbsp;

Illustrated by Unicode, these updates will also add gender-neutral royalty via a “person with crown” emoji, which will be joining the pre-existing “prince” and “princess” emojis.

Emojipedia's chief emoji officer, Jeremy Burge, says that adding gender-neutral options to nearly all emojis will give users the option to select a woman or man depending on the situation, as with the "bearded person" emoji in January.&nbsp;

Several emojis are still without gender-neutral options, largely because it's not entirely clear what constitutes a gender-neutral approach.&nbsp;

For instance, the two dancer emojis have proven to be headscratchers. Currently, the two dancer emojis depicts a male disco dancer and a female flamenco dancer.

Several options were suggested to make these more gender-neutral. One suggestion was introducing identically dressed gender options for the same emoji, so in addition to the female flamenco dancer dressed in red, we could have a male dressed in a red dress dancing.

<img alt="Unicode gender dancing emoji options" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e7cb376d-ccdb-49f9-8147-a29fd03274cb" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/unicode-gender-dancer-emoji.jpg" />

Options for a gender-inclusive dancer emoji. (Image: Emojipedia)

Another option was offering gender-appropriate additions, so in addition to the red dress-wearing female dancer, we could have a male flamenco dancer, dressed in the traditional flamenco garbs.

The final preferred option was the addition of a gender-neutral version of a dancing style, for which breakdancing has been suggested by Emojipedia.

The draft list also contains handshakes between two hands with different skin tones, along with an emoji depicting the popular hands making a heart shape, additional faces like “peeking eye” or peeking through the fingers, “saluting”, and “holding back tears”.

Other additions consist of &nbsp;20 new icons that include a “coral” emoji which can be used to depict climate change, playground slide, x-ray and empty battery.

Each year as part of its process, Unicode opens its draft icons to public comment before approving them for use in September.

Once the emojis are approved, it is up to the device manufacturers when to make them available to users.

To celebrate World Emoji Day on Saturday, Emojipedia is all set to launch a series of new inclusive emojis. According to a draft list by the Unicode Consortium, which is in charge of approving emojis and icons for use, the emojis which will hit phones over the next year include designs like a pregnant man and a multiracial handshake.

To celebrate World Emoji Day on Saturday, Emojipedia is all set to launch a series of new inclusive emojis. According to a draft list by the Unicode Consortium, which is in charge of approving emojis and icons for use, the emojis which will hit phones over the next year include designs like a pregnant man and a multiracial handshake. This update is part of the consortium’s bid to complete their emoji sets by offering not just feminine and masculine, but also gender-neutral variants of every available emoji. The emojis will feature a selection of skin tones and also have representation for trans and nonbinary pregnancies, with two new gender variants being made available for the “pregnant woman” emoji. Illustrated by Unicode, these updates will also add gender-neutral royalty via a “person with crown” emoji, which will be joining the pre-existing “prince” and “princess” emojis. Emojipedia's chief emoji officer, Jeremy Burge, says that adding gender-neutral options to nearly all emojis will give users the option to select a woman or man depending on the situation, as with the "bearded person" emoji in January. Several emojis are still without gender-neutral options, largely because it's not entirely clear what constitutes a gender-neutral approach. For instance, the two dancer emojis have proven to be headscratchers. Currently, the two dancer emojis depicts a male disco dancer and a female flamenco dancer. Several options were suggested to make these more gender-neutral. One suggestion was introducing identically dressed gender options for the same emoji, so in addition to the female flamenco dancer dressed in red, we could have a male dressed in a red dress dancing. Options for a gender-inclusive dancer emoji. (Image: Emojipedia) Another option was offering gender-appropriate additions, so in addition to the red dress-wearing female dancer, we could have a male flamenco dancer, dressed in the traditional flamenco garbs. The final preferred option was the addition of a gender-neutral version of a dancing style, for which breakdancing has been suggested by Emojipedia. The draft list also contains handshakes between two hands with different skin tones, along with an emoji depicting the popular hands making a heart shape, additional faces like “peeking eye” or peeking through the fingers, “saluting”, and “holding back tears”. Other additions consist of 20 new icons that include a “coral” emoji which can be used to depict climate change, playground slide, x-ray and empty battery. Each year as part of its process, Unicode opens its draft icons to public comment before approving them for use in September. Once the emojis are approved, it is up to the device manufacturers when to make them available to users.

'Pregnant man': Ahead of Emoji day launch, gender-neutral emojis unveiled

Accessing everything from Wikipedia to Google Maps <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/600000-rohingyas-in-myanmar-still-at-serious-risk-of-genocide-united-nations-249971">in Myanmar</a> is about to get a lot easier when it finally adopts the universal code underpinning phone and online communication next week.

Tech experts say the move to bring the country more in step with the rest of the digital world is crucial, but will cause "chaos" in a rocky transition period.

Myanmar is the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-east-asia/myanmar-army-drops-lawsuit-against-religious-leader-who-complained-to-trump-of-persecution-248749">last nation</a> to embrace unicode that has significant numbers of people online. Without it, most users see international content -- and a lot from within the country -- as lines of meaningless symbols.

Household name websites can be impossible to read while translation and voice recognition software do not work.

October 1 is "U-Day", when Myanmar officially adopts the new system. From then on, all electronic communication from government offices, telecoms companies, banks and media must be in Unicode by law.

Myanmar became a global code anomaly due to isolation under its former military junta.

Microsoft and Apple helped other countries standardise years ago, but Western sanctions meant Myanmar lost out.

IT pioneer Zaw Htut, 47, describes this as the final battle won in a decades-long code "war".

"This is like changing to democracy," he enthuses.

However, making the switch to Unicode will be a turbulent ride, and he warned that initially there will be "chaos".

Facebook -- the main social media platform in the country -- has developed automatic conversion software to give users a "seamless experience", says strategic response team member Sarah Oh.

But many will suddenly be unable to read messages on other apps and from banks or phone operators, while those who switch will no longer be able to communicate with friends still using the old system.

'A lot of confusion'

A homegrown rival to Unicode called "Zawgyi" (pronounced: zaw-jee) -- meaning wizard -- evolved in Myanmar's detached digital ecosystem.

Its popularity exploded as the country opened up from 2011 and smartphone use soared.

Today around 90 per cent of people use Zawgyi instead of Unicode.

Incompatible without fiddly plug-ins, it only allows people to communicate in Burmese with other Zawgyi users, excluding the nation's minority languages.

Its clunkiness also means search functions do not work, crippling data storage systems.

According to tech experts, it could take years to achieve full migration.

Zaw Htut compares the abrupt switch to Unicode with the former junta's overnight decision for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/nasa-pioneers-malaria-predicting-tech-in-myanmar-248770">Myanmar</a> to drive on the right instead of the left.

"But we're digitally empowering the nation," he said.

Joox, a regional version of Spotify, said it is impossible to convert the millions of Burmese language songs on its app.

With the deadline looming, celebrities and influencers are hammering home the need to convert while technicians prepare for a deluge of queries.

An army of volunteers are helping in online forums and offline at teashops.

"There's a lot of confusion," explains computer science student Tin Lat Nandar, 23, as she updates retirees' phones at a Sunday drop-in session.

Yangon street vendor Mi Mi, 35, says she has heard about the switch but does not want to change.&nbsp;

"I don't know how to do it", she said.

An estimated 10 to 15 per cent of mainly older phones will not be advanced enough to convert.

Many cheaper, illegally imported devices even come pre-installed with the old system -- putting those too poor to buy newer models at a clear disadvantage.

Still others are excited at the wealth of information now at their fingertips.

"I'll be able to read Wikipedia in Burmese," says a beaming Aung Kyaw Oo, 62, as he leaves a drop-in session.

Accessing everything from Wikipedia to Google Maps in Myanmar is about to get a lot easier when it finally adopts the universal code underpinning phone and online communication next week.

Accessing everything from Wikipedia to Google Maps in Myanmar is about to get a lot easier when it finally adopts the universal code underpinning phone and online communication next week. Tech experts say the move to bring the country more in step with the rest of the digital world is crucial, but will cause "chaos" in a rocky transition period. Myanmar is the last nation to embrace unicode that has significant numbers of people online. Without it, most users see international content -- and a lot from within the country -- as lines of meaningless symbols. Household name websites can be impossible to read while translation and voice recognition software do not work. October 1 is "U-Day", when Myanmar officially adopts the new system. From then on, all electronic communication from government offices, telecoms companies, banks and media must be in Unicode by law. Myanmar became a global code anomaly due to isolation under its former military junta. Microsoft and Apple helped other countries standardise years ago, but Western sanctions meant Myanmar lost out. IT pioneer Zaw Htut, 47, describes this as the final battle won in a decades-long code "war". "This is like changing to democracy," he enthuses. However, making the switch to Unicode will be a turbulent ride, and he warned that initially there will be "chaos". Facebook -- the main social media platform in the country -- has developed automatic conversion software to give users a "seamless experience", says strategic response team member Sarah Oh. But many will suddenly be unable to read messages on other apps and from banks or phone operators, while those who switch will no longer be able to communicate with friends still using the old system. 'A lot of confusion' A homegrown rival to Unicode called "Zawgyi" (pronounced: zaw-jee) -- meaning wizard -- evolved in Myanmar's detached digital ecosystem. Its popularity exploded as the country opened up from 2011 and smartphone use soared. Today around 90 per cent of people use Zawgyi instead of Unicode. Incompatible without fiddly plug-ins, it only allows people to communicate in Burmese with other Zawgyi users, excluding the nation's minority languages. Its clunkiness also means search functions do not work, crippling data storage systems. According to tech experts, it could take years to achieve full migration. Zaw Htut compares the abrupt switch to Unicode with the former junta's overnight decision for Myanmar to drive on the right instead of the left. "But we're digitally empowering the nation," he said. Joox, a regional version of Spotify, said it is impossible to convert the millions of Burmese language songs on its app. With the deadline looming, celebrities and influencers are hammering home the need to convert while technicians prepare for a deluge of queries. An army of volunteers are helping in online forums and offline at teashops. "There's a lot of confusion," explains computer science student Tin Lat Nandar, 23, as she updates retirees' phones at a Sunday drop-in session. Yangon street vendor Mi Mi, 35, says she has heard about the switch but does not want to change. "I don't know how to do it", she said. An estimated 10 to 15 per cent of mainly older phones will not be advanced enough to convert. Many cheaper, illegally imported devices even come pre-installed with the old system -- putting those too poor to buy newer models at a clear disadvantage. Still others are excited at the wealth of information now at their fingertips. "I'll be able to read Wikipedia in Burmese," says a beaming Aung Kyaw Oo, 62, as he leaves a drop-in session.

Myanmar to become last country to adopt Unicode for communication

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'Pregnant man': Ahead of Emoji day launch, gender-neutral emojis unveiled

Myanmar to become last country to adopt Unicode for communication