EU Plan To Use Sesame Characters In Peace Efforts

[Buck-Beaver]

Well, finally some good news from the Middle-East version of Sesame Street, which has been sidelined by the Isreali-Palestinian conflict for about two years...the Jerusalem Post carried this AP story today:

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRUSSELS, Belgium

The EU head office said Monday it is funding 40 percent of three versions of a 26-part Sesame Street show in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories.

The Ford Foundation and other organizations will make up the rest of the total US$ 8.3 million cost.

"Working with children today will help build peace tomorrow," Michael Leigh, the deputy director for the Mideast at the EU's external relations department, told reporters.

The shows blend cartoons and puppetry with mini-documentaries that stress such familiar Sesame Street themes as cooperation, respect for others and self-esteem.

American Sesame Street characters have been shown in the Middle East for 25 years. The "Sesame Stories" produced for Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian youngsters, however, are the first featuring local characters and situations.

"TV is ... the largest, most powerful teacher in the history of mankind," said Gary Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop.

The "Sesame Stories" are aimed at children under the age of eight. They debuted in the country in September and will begin airing in Palestinian areas and Jordan on Oct. 26, the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Each country enlists its own cast of pumpkin and lemon-hued Muppets with multiethnic human characters tailoring lessons to each region's culture. American Muppets, including Cookie Monster, will star only in parts of the shows.

The 26 episodes will run daily on public and children's television networks.

Israeli and Arab characters are friends on the Israeli show, where Muppets stop shouting and stage a peaceful protest when one of them bangs his drums too loudly.

"We really don't want them to think and see that (the violence) they're living in ... they should accept," said Alona Abt, director of the Sesame Street program on Israel's HOP! TV.

An episode for the Palestinian Ma'an Network depicts children struggling to reach for a high shelf, ride a bike or tie a shoelace as a chorus reassures them, "So keep trying, you will get there."

Sesame Street shows are featured in 120 countries.

Israel and the Palestinian Territories offer a unique environment for the makers of "the world's longest street." The producers of the Palestinian program lost their Ramallah studios to the Israeli army for several weeks last year, said Daoud Kuttab, director of the Palestinian program.

"We tried not to let all these problems to dissuade us away from our main purpose," he said.

"We all share the sun that shines on us," chimes a chorus of young voices in Jordan's JRTV program.

Knell said Sesame Street shows seek "to counter the negative images that children see on television everyday and to offer hope for a better world."

He said the programs depict "realistic and positive messages and provide a valuable tool to children in developing new perspectives about themselves and those around them."

Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satell...le/ShowFull&cid=1066626586343&p=1008596981749

 

[dwayne1115]

ok here is somthing that bugs me. Do the other natoins have the right to call thier puppets muppets im just wondering about that.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Yes. The characters are all designed, built and approved by the Muppet workshop, who works with the local producers. They also dispatch experienced puppeteers from Sesame Street to train the local puppeteers for each co-production.

 

[Drtooth]

I hope this works...

The parents of these children poison their minds with more hatrid and dispair, fighting over scrap of land, and causing a rift based on reglions (even though there is obvious similarities between Islam and Judiaism... really), and of such, they would have their kids reject western values (possibly values of just snubbing people that one hates, and ignoring them) and ultimately this show.

They don't need to aim this at kids, they need to aim this at adults.

Perhaps they need a lot of skits about settling arguments (perhaps remaking last year's episode where Telly and his Cousin Izzy fight over triangles, and Telly wants the respond violently. Gordon assures him that this wouldn't work, because Izzy would hit back, then he's hit back, causing an unsolvable circle of violence and anger that doesn't even have a solution to the problem... of course, with their own characters) and sharing, since that is what the two groups seem to neglect.

I mean, snubing people is one thing (tell me no other country snubbs anyother, and just ignores them) but all this mindless violence with no ultimate solution... someone's got to learn something, and right now, it's the adults...