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Culturally Specific Content Key to Sesame Street's Success

First Lady Laura Bush meets the cast of the Indian version of Sesame Street, Galli Galli Sim Sim (© AP/WWP)

By Anthony Kujawa
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Sesame Street, the educational television program launched in the United States in 1968, has become a "shared experience" of children in more than 120 countries.

Sesame Workshop, the New York-based nonprofit educational organization that launched the program, says Sesame Street's success and global appeal rests with the "cultural specificity" of its international programs. International co-productions engage child-development experts in each country, who work closely with local directors, producers, and writers to "translate the magic of Sesame Street in a way that captures the rich cultural flavors of each region."

The first Sesame Street co-production, Plaza Sesamo, premiered in Mexico in 1972, followed by German co-production Sesamstrasse in 1973. Since that time international programming has grown exponentially. Over the last thirty-four years, local co-productions of Sesame Street have been developed in nearly thirty countries. Various versions of Sesame Street have aired in more than 120 nations. In the United States alone, there are more than 74 million "graduates" of Sesame Street. New programs are being launched in 2006 in India and 2007 in Indonesia. (See related article.)

CELEBRATING INDIA'S MULTICULTURALISM, DIVERSITY

In February, filming began for Galli Galli Sim Sim, scheduled to debut in India in late summer 2006. The U.S. Agency for International Development provided support for the development phase of the program.

"The project seeks to build bridges between children of different geographical regions, genders, and abilities by celebrating the similarities and differences in their everyday lives and highlighting universal values such as sharing and cooperation," said Shari Rosenfeld, Sesame Workshop's vice president for developing and emerging markets, in an April 4 interview with the Washington File.

The series is designed to promote the joy of learning and appreciation of cultural strengths, she said, adding that fostering understanding across differences is a curricular theme area for the project, along with cognitive, emotional, social and physical development.

The characters represent "the vibrancy or India's multiculturalism -- celebrating the diversity that is part of children's every day lives," according to a Sesame Workshop press release on the program.

“I am sure that the compelling educational content that the programme has to offer will change the face of young kids’ education in India, just like the globally renowned Sesame Street show has in many countries across the world," said India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Priya Ranjan Das Munshi in a congratulatory note on the launch of the program. "For me, Sesame India’s local version, Galli Galli Sim Sim, in days to come, will become an asset to Indian kids’ education as well as provide a new direction in teaching kids to love, understand and celebrate India’s diversity and rich culture."

EXPANSION TO INDONESIA

Famous Muppets Bert, left, and Ernie reminisce about their longtime friendship. (© AP/WWP)

Sesame Street also is expanding to Indonesia through a program that will put Sesame Street characters -- including favorites Cookie Monster and Bert and Ernie -- in Indonesia's classrooms, helping young students in Indonesia learn to read, write and think critically.

During a March visit to Indonesia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States is providing $8.5 million program for Sesame Street co-production, part of a six-year, $157 million program President Bush announced in October 2003 to support Indonesia's efforts to improve the quality of education in its schools. (See related article.)

As Sesame Street and its spin-offs spread across the globe, the familiar characters speak different languages and reflect different cultures, but its universal message of tolerance, respect, and self-esteem never changes.

Additional information on Sesame Street programs throughout the world is available on Sesame Workshop's Web site.

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