Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organisation behind Sesame Street, and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (Abegs) has its partnership for Iftah Ya Simsim.

 

It aims to continue to design an educational framework that will bring back the beloved children’s television series to the GCC, said a statement.

 

Iftah Ya Simsim, targeting children aged from four to six and produced by Bidaya Media (especially created to develop the initiative), is now in production and expected to debut across the region in early 2015.  

 

Dr Ali Al Karni, the director general of Abegs, said: “Renewing our partnership is a testament to international co-operation on best practices in educational media.

 

“As with the original Iftah, the educational framework guides the great creative work that Sesame Workshop and the Bidaya team are now developing.  Abegs will continue to support the initiative through research and development of educational objectives and promoting the integration of Iftah content in learning environments.”

 

Bidaya Media is working to expand the network of regional partners with an interest in educational media.  The Joint Program Production Institution (JPPI), Sesame Workshop’s production partner from the original Iftah series in 1980, has joined the coalition and will provide both production and distribution support to assure Iftah content reaches the widest possible audiences.

 

H Melvin Ming, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, said: “Working closely with the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf states, we will be producing content on a variety of platforms with the goal of achieving measurable educational gains for children in early school years. The new Iftah Ya Simsim series is a great complement to our continuing efforts to reach more children with engaging lessons that will help them grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”

 

Bidaya Media is located within twofour54, the Abu Dhabi Media Authority Zone, and continues to recruit talent for the production of Iftah Ya Simsim.  Through an intensive regional auditioning process, Bidaya Media recently cast the performers to recreate the original characters from the series.  

 

Dr Cairo Arafat, Bidaya’s managing director, said: “It took four years and the passion and commitment of dozens of individuals across international boundaries to bring Iftah Ya Simsim to this point.  We have a great opportunity to establish a truly Arabic educational platform for the 21st century child.” - TradeArabia News Service