Ahlan Simsim
Ahlan Simsim | |
---|---|
أهلا سمسم | |
Original languages | Arabic, Kurdish |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 156 |
Production | |
Producers | Sesame Workshop, International Rescue Committee |
Running time | 25-26 minutes |
Production company | MBC3 |
Release | 2 February 2020 present | –
Ahlan Simsim (
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
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
For the fifth season in 2022, the program introduced Ameera, a green eight-year-old girl who loves science and uses a
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
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
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]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e "The IRC and Sesame Street, rescuing children's futures". International Rescue Committee. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b c d "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.
- ^ a b c d "Muppets help conflict kids in new Arabic 'Sesame Street'". Bangkok Post. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ 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) - ^ a b c d Elassar, Alaa (2019-11-20). "A new 'Sesame Street' show in Arabic aims to help refugee children". CNN. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ a b "Impacting Millions of Young Lives: Ahlan Simsim Five Years On". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ "Groundbreaking initiative Ahlan Simsim celebrates key milestone of one million children reached by direct services". International Rescue Committee. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b c "Looking Back at Year Four of Ahlan Simsim: A Year of Growth". MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ a b c d "Join Ahlan Simsim for a New Season of Fun Adventures that Encourage Playful Learning and Problem Solving". www.gdnlife.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ a b "Looking Back at Year Three of Ahlan Simsim: A Year of Adaptation". Medium. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b HarvardHumanitarian (8 February 2022). "Ahlan Simsim: Partnering to Educate Children in Humanitarian Crisis". YouTube. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Ahlan Simsim: Sesame Street's Arabic show to debut in Middle East". www.aljazeera.com. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Arabic Sesame Street helps children explore emotions - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ Spurgeon, Susanna (3 February 2020). "Sesame Street Airs 'Ahlan Simsim' in Arabic for Syrian Kids". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b c d "Meet the New Muppets of Ahlan Simsim!". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b c 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) - ^ PMID 36268053.
- ^ a b "'Ahlan Simsim': Arabic TV show helps children deal with COVID-19 anxiety". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ PMID 33214141.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ahlan Simsim (2020)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b c d "Staying in to Stay Healthy with the "Ahlan Simsim" Muppets". Medium. 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ "Home Page". ahlansimsim.org. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Bedirian, Razmig (2022-04-08). "Meet Ameera, the new 'Ahlan Simsim' character with a disability". The National. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ 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) - ^ "Ahlan Simsim Collaborates with Raya Abirached in its 6th Season". Ananbat News. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ ""Ahlan Simsim" collaborates with Raya Abi Rashid". News Unrolled. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ George, Ashley (2020-02-05). "Arabic Sesame Street Aims to Help Refugees". Language Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ Rayner, Eddie (2020-09-15). "Ahlan Simsim is Back!". Education UAE. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ "Ahlan Simsim". sat7plus.org. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
- ^ "Ahlan Simsim premieres new videos to help parents and children stay healthy during pandemic". Saudigazette. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- S2CID 232116247.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "'Sesame Street' special episode for kids to tackle with coronavirus pandemic". WION. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ a b McClimon, Timothy J. "IRC And Sesame Workshop Partner To Get Big Results In The Middle East". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ Foster, Elizabeth (7 September 2021). "International Emmy Kids give nods to Jordan & UK". Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (2022-11-30). "Nominees Announced for 14th Kidscreen Awards". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- S2CID 245166518.
- ^ "Early Childhood Development in Emergency & Conflict (ECDEC) | NYU Steinhardt". steinhardt.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-12.