{"id":32417,"date":"2019-02-09T04:23:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-09T04:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=32417"},"modified":"2019-02-09T04:23:07","modified_gmt":"2019-02-09T04:23:07","slug":"birthday-party-on-the-street-where-every-arab-child-grew-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=32417","title":{"rendered":"Birthday party on the street where every Arab child grew up"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nDUBAI: As \u201cSesame Street\u201d celebrates its 50th anniversary, many Arabs are looking back on the influence that the show had on them throughout their childhood, particularly the Arabic version, \u201cIftah Ya Simsim,\u201d which began 40 years ago.
\u201cI grew up watching both Sesame Street and Iftah Ya Simsim,\u201d said Ammar Sabban, a 40-year-old Saudi who spent his first three years in the US. \u201cI was mesmerized by how these characters functioned and I was intrigued by their mechanism. I always wanted to be a part of that world and try to see it for myself.\u201d
His curiosity was so strong that it drew the former architect toward being a part of the Arabic show. As a result, two years ago Sabban started giving life to Cookie Monster, Grover, Burt and the Count as captain puppeteer, while assuming the role of creative content director at Bidaya Media.
\u201cI\u2019m living out my childhood dream,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing part of the team and creating it came full circle because I spent most of my time watching these cartoons. I feel I am helping to create the same things I used to watch for younger generations.\u201d
It all began in the US in 1969, when colorful muppets were created to teach young children in a playful manner, while preparing them for school. Ten years later, in 1979, \u201cIftah Ya Simsim\u201d was born as the Arabic version of the show, which aired in 22 Arabic-speaking countries. Although it was pulled off the air in 1990 after the outbreak of the Gulf War, its new series started in September 2015, with the present show led by the Abu Dhabi Education Council, Twofour54, the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States and Bidaya Media.
\u201cIftah Ya Simsim was a really exciting part of my day when I was child,\u201d said Ruba Awni, a 31-year-old Palestinian who grew up in Jordan. \u201cI felt like I was going to another place where fun and imagination would run free. I always thought that they lived in a real neighborhood nearby.\u201d\"\"
\nAwni said Anis and Badr \u2014 also known as Bert and Ernie on \u201cSesame Street\u201d \u2014 were her favorite characters. \u201cI loved them then and I still love them today,\u201d she said. \u201cI remember when my dad would keep telling me stories about them, and how Anis was the smart one and Badr was the silly one. I even watched all the new episodes with my children \u2014 it\u2019s amazing to watch it in HD, but the older version will always hold a special place in my heart.\u201d
Created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, \u201cSesame Street\u201d has had a massive impact on children and adults alike.
Since its comeback in the Middle East, the show has now entered its third season. For Sabban, \u201cIftah Ya Simsim\u201d is all about fun learning \u2014 a crucial point for him, as he grew up loathing school. \u201cI still hate school,\u201d he joked. \u201cBut at the same time, I love learning, and these shows educated and entertained me simultaneously. I found out about the entertainment aspect first, then the educational part without knowing.\u201d
\u201cI love to teach and analyze but not in the traditional way,\u201d he said. \u201cI tried to do it, and I wasn\u2019t happy with it, so I felt that this is maybe my way. Being able to write and perform comedy, and educate at the same time is a trifecta.\u201d
Over the years, he was able to share his passion for the show with his three children. \u201cI used to sit and watch shows with them, and do the voices,\u201d he said. \u201cBut never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would actually do it. They know the characters. They like the sense of humor, but they don\u2019t watch it as much now because they have reached their teenage years.\u201d
Content Themes Reports Settings Support Video Platform Welcome Mahad Mohamed CONTENT FOR SRPC – Arabnews Filter Total : 199 Drop files here Version: 5.0.17 \u00a9 2019 Limelight Networks. All rights reserved. limelight.com Suggestions? EMBED Theme Widescreen<\/p>\n

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A trailer of Iftah Ya Simsim\u2019s Season 3, which features Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed Al-Hamed, chairman of the Department of Health of Abu Dhabi.<\/em>
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\nAt the studio, Sabban and his team are working toward also making the show appealing to parents. \u201cIt\u2019s part of why Sesame Street survived for 50 years, because the writing appealed to both children and adults, and the jokes and situations are timeless. We have very few children\u2019s shows on TV in the Arab world that are appealing to parents at the same time, so that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do here.\u201d
For Hala Khalaf, a 38-year-old Jordanian who grew up in Kuwait, \u201cIftah Ya Simsim\u201d evokes feelings from her childhood; she recalls standing in her crib at the sound of the theme song. \u201cI remember how much my brother and I used to look forward to it and watch it religiously,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery one of the characters feels like an old friend \u2014 you can\u2019t grow up in Kuwait in the 1980s without being a huge fan..\u201d
When the show returned a few years ago, she watched the first episode with her daughter. \u201cI get a lump in my throat when I hear the theme song because it\u2019s associated with so many good childhood memories,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a song ingrained in my brain more than any other, and I\u2019m hoping exposure to the show will improve my children\u2019s Arabic.\u201d
Growing up, Sami Ha Zen, a 32-year-old Indian, was allowed to watch one hour of TV a day, into which he would manage to fit \u201cIftah Ya Simsim.\u201d
\u201cI was an avid watcher of the show and it shaped my behavior a lot,\u201d said Zen, who grew up in Sharjah. \u201cI loved the playfulness and adults around me were too serious to play with. I was jealous of the kids in the show and wanted to be part of it. Muppets were the wonder I couldn\u2019t understand.\u201d\"\"
Today, his children opt to watch \u201cSesame Street\u201d in English. \u201cDuring my childhood, we had Channel 33, the only English one in Dubai,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we had to embrace Arabic and that\u2019s how I learnt. My parents often translated what was happening in the show, which helped me to learn better.\u201d
Fifty years on, Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind \u201cSesame Street,\u201d has announced a year-long anniversary celebration. Throughout 2019, it will bring people together around the lessons of \u201cSesame Street\u201d \u2014 that everyone is equally worthy of respect, opportunity and happiness.
\u201cThis is a remarkable milestone for kids, for education and for television,\u201d said Jeffrey D. Dunn, Sesame Workshop\u2019s chief executive officer. \u201cSesame Street has now brought the life-changing benefits of early learning to children around the globe for 50 years. Our mission is to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder knows no geographic boundaries. We\u2019re everywhere families are, and we never stop innovating and growing. That\u2019s what keeps us timeless.\u201d
Part of the celebration will include a 50th television season, which focuses on empowering children to take safe risks and learn from their mistakes, as well as a US road trip where \u201cSesame Street\u201d characters host community events in 10 cities.
The Sesame Street in Communities initiative will tackle issues such as substance abuse and foster care to support vulnerable children and families, while the launch of a new local version of \u201cSesame Street\u201d was created for displaced Syrian families and their new neighbors in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, as part of a large-scale early childhood intervention in the region.
A November prime-time special will feature new takes on classic segments and visits from \u201cSesame Street\u201d icons. \u201cWe\u2019re often asked what Sesame Street\u2019s legacy will be,\u201d Cooney said. \u201cTo me, a legacy is when something\u2019s over \u2026 and this isn\u2019t over.\u201d
For Morrisett, \u201cSesame Street\u201d had a profound impact on children\u2019s media, setting a template that the industry has followed for generations. \u201cFifty years later, Sesame Workshop continues to deliver on its mission every day, across multiple platforms, on six continents. We started as an experiment \u2014 and it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

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DUBAI: As \u201cSesame Street\u201d celebrates its 50th anniversary, many Arabs are looking back on the influence that the show had on them throughout their childhood, particularly the Arabic version, \u201cIftah Ya Simsim,\u201d which began 40 years ago.\u201cI grew up watching both Sesame Street and Iftah Ya Simsim,\u201d said Ammar Sabban, a 40-year-old Saudi who spent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}