Background Iftah Ya Simsim

sesame street co-creator joan ganz cooney, in 1985. cooney surprised other countries interested in producing own versions of american show.

as of 2006, there 20 active co-productions. in 2001, ctw vice-president charlotte cole estimated there on 120 million viewers of international versions of sesame street, , show s 40th anniversary in 2009, seen in more 140 countries. doreen carvajal of new york times reported income co-productions accounted us$96 million in 1994. cole stated, children s television workshop (ctw) can regarded single largest informal educator of young children in world . studies conducted on effects of several co-productions found viewers of these shows gain basic skills watching them.

kuwait s 1980 census, conducted shortly after original show s premiere, showed 48% of citizens either totally illiterate or ... barely [able to] read or write . several studies in kuwait showed parents illiteracy adversely affected children s educational , social development. half of kuwaitis lived in rural areas of country illiterate. literacy rates women , girls worse: unesco reported in 2005 account 2 thirds of region s illiterates . in 2000, before revived show aired, arab region had of world s lowest adult literacy rates, @ little on 62%, below world average of 84% , in developing countries (almost 76.5%). kuwaiti 1980 census showed though kindergarten free citizens, 30% of children aged 3 5 attended; number lower 12 million preschoolers in arab world, @ 2%. girls attended school less commonly boys in arab countries.

in 1976, arab fund social , economic development held series of workshops , seminars, attended educators, mass media officers, , social planners, preschool education in region. participants agreed adopt sesame street feasible , economical solution low attendance in preschools , illiteracy and, funding arab gulf states joint program production institution, movement made create co-production children of kuwait , arab world. program, called iftah ya simsim ( open sesame ) premiered in kuwait in 1979 , ran until 1990, when gulf war stopped production. broadcast in 22 arab countries, , continued well-known decades after went off air. in june 2010, sesame workshop , arab bureau of education gulf states (abegs), regional gulf cooperation council (gcc) organization dedicated education, research, , development, agreed bring show.