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08-10-2025
The proposal is receiving broad international support. It is supported by, among others, the International Post Corporation (IPC), an interest group representing the largest postal companies in Europe, Asia, and North America; the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (UPAEP), the association of all North and South American postal companies; and UNI Global Union, a cross-national organization representing 20 million workers in 150 countries. The Austrian Postal and Telecommunications Workers' Union also supports the proposal. To date, the national postal companies of Egypt, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Slovenia have also joined the ranks. A resolution supporting the postal worker emoji, introduced at the Universal Postal Union's Universal Postal Congress in Dubai at the end of September, was enthusiastically and unanimously adopted by the participating member countries.
Manuela Bruck, Head of Corporate Communications & Customer Relations, Austrian Post: "Emojis are an integral part of everyday communication and are frequently used, especially by Generation Z. However, the postal profession has not yet been represented by its own emoji. Therefore, Austrian Post, together with international partners, is committed to ensuring that all delivery workers worldwide are visible in digital communication with their own emoji in the future. Our goal: to have a postal worker on every smartphone and every computer!"
WHY POSTWORKERS DESERVE THEIR OWN EMOJI
There are currently nearly 3,800 emojis officially standardized by the Unicode Consortium, depicting emotions, professions, objects, and activities, among other things. However, this colorful character set found on smartphones, computers, and other devices lacks one essential profession: the postworker.
A delivery worker emoji would represent a profession that is widespread around the world and affects almost everyone. Whether it involves delivering important letters or online orders, this profession is an indispensable part of everyday life. Due to its global reach and universal validity, Austrian Post and its partners consider it an indispensable addition to the emoji character set.
The postman emoji would enable billions of people to express an essential part of their everyday lives as an emoji: whether it's waiting for the mail, sending letters and packages, or receiving orders. From handwritten letters to transporting packages across continents, delivery is an essential everyday service and a symbol of movement, trust, and connection in the modern world. It's time to give the people who make this possible a face with their own emoji!
THE PATH TO THE EMOJI: PROCESS AND NEXT STEPS
The basis for a new emoji is always an application to the non-profit Unicode Consortium, which manages the standardized character set and defines individual emojis. Applicants had until the end of July 2025 to submit their idea for new emojis – Austrian Post, with the support of the IPC and UNI Global Union, nominated the postman. The Unicode Consortium now has until the end of November to review all received applications and decide whether to proceed.
If the application is approved, the Unicode Consortium develops a design proposal. Based on this, software companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, WhatsApp, and others develop their own emojis and add them to their character sets. In this case, the postman emoji is expected to be available on all smartphones worldwide in the course of 2026.
Regardless of the outcome, one thing is clear to Austrian Post and its partners: Postal workers deserve visibility and appreciation – on World Post Day and beyond!
Source: Austrian Post