Shara'a Simsim premeries new season

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent
The Deputy Palestinian Prime Minister is not normally greeted by fuzzy and furry hands, but today was no ordinary day. Azzam Ahmad of Fatah, last seen debating politicians, was the guest of honor of Kareem and Haneen, a pair of Muppet friends from a beloved children's TV program. Gary E. Knell, President and CEO of nonprofit educational organization Sesame Workshop, along with a representative from the Netherlands' Representative Office and first grade Palestinian children from schools throughout Ramallah were celebrating the launch of the new season of Shara'a Simsim.

The 15 episodes of Shara'a Simsim (30 minutes each), which premiers on the ten station Palestinian Maan TV network this week, will deliver a daily dose of engaging educational content. Shara'a Simsim is the local Palestinian adaptation of the world renowned educational program Sesame Street, which has educated children in over 120 countries since its debut in 1969.

"Sesame Workshop has a proud history of serving the needs of children and their families in the Middle East, In 1979, we launched Iftah Ya Simsim, the first Sesame Street co-production in Arabic, in Kuwait. Today, we reach another milestone with our long-time production partners Al-Quds University. It is a privilege to work with them once again to bring to the children of Palestine a new season of Shara'a Simsim, empowering young boys and girls with knowledge and encouraging them through humor, music and positive role modeling." said Knell.

Daoud Kuttab, the Palestinian Executive Director of the series, expressed pride that this quality creative process was done almost exclusively by Palestinians. "The first two international co-productions were a learning curve for our creative team and we are proud to see talent develop from creating concepts to writing and acting, to building sets to Muppeteering. We are working to produce a self-sustaining high quality children's program."

Kuttab says that the new series is focused on the need to empower Palestinian boys and encourage them to express their feelings in non-violent ways. Al Quds University's Educational Television produced the first Shara'a Sismim series in 1997, followed by Hikayat Simsim in 2004.

After conducting extensive research, Dr. Cairo Arafat, the program's content advisor, suggested focusing on young Palestinian boys. "We want to show boys that they can enjoy life, share and participate without having to prove that they are tough and without reverting to violence." The series will depict empowered boys who will serve as a positive role models for the target audience. The Shara'a Simsim team includes: Studio Director George Khleifi; Line Producer Saed Andoni; Production Manager Lila Sayegh; Head Writer Nada Yasser; and Music Director Emad Salsa. The lead Muppeters are Fadi Ghoul, playing Haneen, and Rajai Sandouka, who is Kareem. Salim, the Fix-It manager, is a new human character and is played by veteran actor Khaled Masou.

Funding for Shara'a Simsim is provided by Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ford Foundation, the Government of Canada, UNESCO's Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity, the Dubai-based Al Habtoor Engineering and the Amman-based Al Hikma Pharmaceuticals. In addition to the television series, a comprehensive outreach initiative, led by Outreach Director Yazan Khalili, will extend the series' messages. The campaign includes a partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, UNRWA and more than 10 Palestinian NGOs to produce and distribute 100,000 copies of an activity book (one for every first grade student) and story books to children and their families. Additional educational materials have been designed for use in a variety of settings including early childcare centers, preschools, kindergartens and homes.