Ahlan Simsim
أهلا سمسم
Original languagesArabic, Kurdish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes156
Production
ProducersSesame Workshop, International Rescue Committee
Running time25-26 minutes
Production companySesame Workshop
Original release
NetworkMBC3
Release2 February 2020 (2020-02-02) –
present

Ahlan Simsim (Arabic: أهلا سمسم, lit. 'Welcome Sesame')[1] is an Arabic language co-production of Sesame Street that premiered on February 2, 2020, on MBC 3.[2][3] The show is the spiritual successor to Iftah Ya Simsim, a Kuwaiti production that ran from 1979 to 1990 and aired in multiple Arabic-speaking countries.[3] The show also shares a name and its characters with an initiative to provide education for displaced Syrian children.[1][4]

Production

The series was first announced in 2016.[5] In 2017 the show received a $100 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation.[6]

Outreach programs were first launched in 2018.[7]

The first season debuted in February 2020. Season three premiered on February 28, 2021, and season four in fall 2021.[8][9]

The series is funded by the MacArthur Foundation grant[6] and by the LEGO Foundation.[10] It is produced in collaboration with Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee.[1][3] As of 2022, the managing director of Ahlan Simsim at Sesame Workshop is Rene Celaya.[11] Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian, and Iraqi children are the target audience, with a special focus on displaced Syrian children.[1]

The show is produced in Amman, Jordan.[12][13]

Messaging

The first season is designed to teach "the emotional ABCs": how to identify and manage emotions.[14][15][16] Emotions covered in the first season were anger, anxiety, compassion, fear, frustration, determination, jealousy, loneliness, and sadness.[17] Emotion management strategies taught in the show include "Stop, Notice, Think", counting to five, breathing, making plans, and asking adults for help.[5][8][16][17]

The second season, in addition to continuing emotional education, focused on helping children cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] The third season more broadly looks at "life challenges", social skills, and conflict resolution.[9][19] The fourth season looked at perseverance, optimism, and hope.[19] The fifth season focused on kindness to one's self and others.[2]

Characters

Human cast members include Salma (played by Mariam Amer),[20] who helps Basma and Jad in the show's DIY segment,[9] Hadi (played by Rami Delshad),[20] who plays guitar,[21] and Teta Noor, Hadi's mother. Both Hadi and Teta Noor teach the younger characters how to manage their emotions.[16][21]

Solely animated characters include Abu'l Fihim (played by Jawad Al Shakarji),[20] who lives on a mural in the neighborhood, birds Bulbul, Hasoon, and Reesheh, and a trio of Dabke dancers.[22]

The series debuted with three original Muppet characters: Basma, Jad, and Ma'zooza.[23] Basma (played by Hind Jaal)[21] is a purple almost six-year-old monster who is enthusiastic about new things and love to perform.[15][23] Jad (played by Nowar Mahayri)[20] is a yellow almost six-year-old monster who loves art and is new to the neighborhood.[15][23] Ma'zooza (played by Fatimah Amayreh)[20] is a baby goat who loves circles and is taught lessons by Basma and Jad.[15][23][13] Ma'zooza was created to show children that they can be leaders and teachers themselves.[13]

For the fifth season in 2022, the program introduced Ameera, a green eight-year-old girl who loves science and uses a wheelchair and crutches due to a spinal cord injury.[2][24] Ameera uses a boxy, more outdated wheelchair to reflect the fact that displaced children in the region are often unable to access new mobility aids.[25]

The series also includes localized versions of Gargur (played by Natheer Khawaldeh), Kaaki, and Elmo from Iftah Ya Simsim.[2]

Guests on the show have included Raya Abirached.[26][27]

Episodes

Episodes air primarily in Levantine Arabic and include Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, and Syrian dialects.[17] Modern Standard Arabic is used in some segments.[17] Some episodes have been translated into Kurdish.[13][28] The first half of each episode features Basma and Jad dealing with a problem or experience. The second half features songs, games, and celebrity guests.[29] Season 2 introduced number and word of the day segments.[30] Season 3 introduces a do-it-yourself segment.[9]

As of 2022 the show has six seasons, with each having 26 episodes.[18][20] Each episode runs about 25–26 minutes.[31]

In 2020 Sesame Workshop released four short public service announcements, featuring the show's muppet characters, which focused on health and hygiene.[32] The show also produced a half-hour special called "Ahlan Simsim: Friends Time", which was aimed toward supporting Middle Eastern families during the COVID-19 pandemic.[21][33] That same year, Basma and Jad also appeared in "Elmo's World News", a special aired internationally that focused on the pandemic and coping skills for children.[34][35]

Reception and impact

According to the MacArthur Foundation, 5.2 million children (from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria) viewed seasons 1 and 2, and 12 million viewers in the wider MENA region had seen the show by the end of season 3's initial airing.[8] In 2022, an estimated 23 million children saw the show.[36]

One 2022 study reported that children who watched the show had increased emotional regulation and larger emotional vocabularies.[17] Parents also reported that they learned new words or emotional regulation strategies from the show as well.[17] A 2023 study found that Jordanian children who had been exposed to the show at school every day for three months showed improvements in identifying and regulating emotions.[37]

Awards

The program received the Teachers' Choice Award in November 2020 from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival.[10]

In 2021 the program was nominated in the Kids: Factual & Entertainment category for the International Emmy Kids Awards, marking the time a Jordanian program had received a nomination for the award.[38]

In 2022 Ahlan Simsim was nominated for Best Mixed-Media Series at the Kidscreen Awards.[39]

Outreach programs

Ahlan Simsim's outreach programs to provide education to displaced Syrian children were launched in late 2018 in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee.[1][3] Programs and materials were created through collaboration with displaced families and communities from August to November 2018.[40]

These programs include year-long preschool classes for displaced children, parenting sessions, and materials for care providers.[5][12][13] In less stable regions, the IRC hosts informal play and learning sessions in community centers.[19] The programs also involve direct services in which early childhood development facilitators meet directly with children and caregivers in their homes.[5] As of 2022, the regional project director for the programs is Marianne Stone.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative focused more on sharing messaging through text messages.[19]

The programs are independently evaluated by NYU Global TIES for Children.[19][41] A June 2023 report from the group revealed that a combined in-person and remote 11-week program affected children'slanguage, numeracy, and social-emotional development on par with what we usually expect as effects of a full year of preschool".[36][37] Evaluation of an audio-only program for caregivers of young children found it did not improve learning, but did decrease depressive symptoms in caregivers.[37]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The IRC and Sesame Street, rescuing children's futures". International Rescue Committee. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ahlan Simsim Debuts New Muppet Character in Fifth Season Focused on Kindness to Oneself and Others". موقع عمان نت (in Arabic). 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Muppets help conflict kids in new Arabic 'Sesame Street'". Bangkok Post. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  4. ↑ Foda, Jenny Perlman Robinson, Chantale Kallas, Maya Elliott, Heidi Rosbe, and Hebah (2022-05-19). "3 insights on expanding the impact of early learning opportunities in Jordan". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Elassar, Alaa (2019-11-20). "A new 'Sesame Street' show in Arabic aims to help refugee children". CNN. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  6. 1 2 "Impacting Millions of Young Lives: Ahlan Simsim Five Years On". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. ↑ "Groundbreaking initiative Ahlan Simsim celebrates key milestone of one million children reached by direct services". International Rescue Committee. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  8. 1 2 3 "Looking Back at Year Four of Ahlan Simsim: A Year of Growth". MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Join Ahlan Simsim for a New Season of Fun Adventures that Encourage Playful Learning and Problem Solving". www.gdnlife.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  10. 1 2 "Looking Back at Year Three of Ahlan Simsim: A Year of Adaptation". Medium. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  11. 1 2 HarvardHumanitarian (8 February 2022). "Ahlan Simsim: Partnering to Educate Children in Humanitarian Crisis". YouTube. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Ahlan Simsim: Sesame Street's Arabic show to debut in Middle East". www.aljazeera.com. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Arabic Sesame Street helps children explore emotions - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  14. ↑ Spurgeon, Susanna (3 February 2020). "Sesame Street Airs 'Ahlan Simsim' in Arabic for Syrian Kids". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Meet the New Muppets of Ahlan Simsim!". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  16. 1 2 3 60 Minutes (17 November 2019). "How Sesame Workshop's Muppets are teaching emotional coping tactics to children". YouTube. Retrieved 19 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Foulds, Kim (2022-10-15). "Co-Viewing Mass Media to Support Children and Parents' Emotional ABCs: An Evaluation of Ahlan Simsim". Early Childhood Education Journal: 1–10. doi:10.1007/s10643-022-01408-0. ISSN 1082-3301. PMC 9569174. PMID 36268053.
  18. 1 2 "'Ahlan Simsim': Arabic TV show helps children deal with COVID-19 anxiety". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Torjesen, Ingrid (2020-11-19). "The Muppets bringing child resilience into Middle Eastern humanitarian work". BMJ. 371: m4270. doi:10.1136/bmj.m4270. ISSN 1756-1833. PMC 7673906. PMID 33214141.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ahlan Simsim (2020)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Staying in to Stay Healthy with the "Ahlan Simsim" Muppets". Medium. 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  22. ↑ "Home Page". ahlansimsim.org. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Dahir, Abdi Latif (2019-11-21). "Arabic-Language Version of 'Sesame Street' Will Debut 3 New Muppets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  24. ↑ Bedirian, Razmig (2022-04-08). "Meet Ameera, the new 'Ahlan Simsim' character with a disability". The National. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  25. ↑ Westin, Michael J. Nyenhuis,Sherrie (2022-11-08). "Opinion: Why Ameera is a Muppet with a wheelchair that doesn't fit". CNN. Retrieved 2023-01-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ "Ahlan Simsim Collaborates with Raya Abirached in its 6th Season". Ananbat News. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  27. ↑ ""Ahlan Simsim" collaborates with Raya Abi Rashid". News Unrolled. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  28. ↑ Carp, Alex (2020-01-31). "'Sesame Street' Is Opening Up to Syrian Refugees". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  29. ↑ George, Ashley (2020-02-05). "Arabic Sesame Street Aims to Help Refugees". Language Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  30. ↑ Rayner, Eddie (2020-09-15). "Ahlan Simsim is Back!". Education UAE. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  31. ↑ "Ahlan Simsim". sat7plus.org. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  32. ↑ "Ahlan Simsim premieres new videos to help parents and children stay healthy during pandemic". Saudigazette. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  33. ↑ Wright, Tara; Einhorn, Kama; Labin, Daniel; Perez, Sal; DiSalvo, Jessica; Truglio, Rosemarie (2021-01-02). "Sesame Workshop's international response to COVID-19". Journal of Children and Media. 15 (1): 60–64. doi:10.1080/17482798.2020.1860100. ISSN 1748-2798. S2CID 232116247.
  34. ↑ Grace, Griffin (21 June 2020). "'Elmo's World News' brings COVID-19 info to kids across the globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  35. ↑ "'Sesame Street' special episode for kids to tackle with coronavirus pandemic". WION. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  36. 1 2 McClimon, Timothy J. "IRC And Sesame Workshop Partner To Get Big Results In The Middle East". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  37. 1 2 3 McClain, Jade (June 27, 2023). "Children affected by the Syrian refugee crisis are effectively learning numbers, letters, and 'emotional ABCs' through the Ahlan Simsim initiative". www.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  38. ↑ Foster, Elizabeth (7 September 2021). "International Emmy Kids give nods to Jordan & UK". Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  39. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (2022-11-30). "Nominees Announced for 14th Kidscreen Awards". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  40. ↑ Kohn, Shanna; Foulds, Kim; Cole, Charlotte; Matthews, Mackenzie; Hussein, Laila (December 2021). "Using a Participatory Approach to Create SEL Programming: The Case of Ahlan Simsim". The Journal on Education in Emergencies. 7 (2): 288. doi:10.33682/hxrv-2g8g. ISSN 2518-6833. S2CID 245166518.
  41. ↑ "Early Childhood Development in Emergency & Conflict (ECDEC) | NYU Steinhardt". steinhardt.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
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