Sesame Street international co-productions are educational children's television series based on the American Sesame Street but tailored to the various other countries in which they are produced. Shortly after the debut of Sesame Street in the US in 1969, television producers, teachers, and officials of several countries approached the show's producers and the executives of Children's Television Workshop (CTW) about the possibility of airing international versions of Sesame Street. Creator Joan Ganz Cooney hired former CBS executive Mike Dann to supervise the initial productions in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, France, Israel, Germany, and several Caribbean nations.
The producers of these shows developed them using a variant on "the CTW model", a flexible model of production based upon the experiences of the creators and producers of the US show. The model consisted of the combination of producers and researchers working together on the show, the development of a unique curriculum, and extensive testing of the shows. The shows came to be called "co-productions", and they contained original sets, characters, and curriculum goals. Different versions were produced, depending upon each country's needs and resources, from dubbed versions of the original show to independent co-productions that reflected the needs, educational priorities, and culture of each country. The first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami, was created in 2003 to address the epidemic of AIDS in South Africa, and was met with controversy in the US.
By 2006, there were 20 co-productions in countries all over the world. In 2001, there were over 120 million viewers of all international versions of Sesame Street, and by the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, they were seen in more than 140 countries.
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A few months after the 1969 debut of Sesame Street on PBS in the US, producers from Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and Germany requested that the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) create and produce versions of Sesame Street in those countries.[1] Creator Joan Ganz Cooney was approached by German public television officials approximately a year after the US version debuted. Many years later, she remarked, "To be frank, I was really surprised, because we thought we were creating the quintessential American show. We thought the Muppets were quintessentially American, and it turns out they're the most international characters ever created".[2] She hired former CBS executive Mike Dann, who left commercial television to become her assistant, as a CTW vice-president. One of Dann's tasks was to field offers to produce versions of Sesame Street in other countries. Dann's appointment led to television critic Marvin Kitman stating, "After he [Dann] sells [Sesame Street] in Russia and Czechoslovakia, he might try Mississippi, where it is considered too controversial for educational TV".[3] (In May 1970, the Mississippi state commission on educational television decided to ban the show.)[4]
By summer 1970, Dann had made the first international agreements for what CTW came to call "co-productions". Thirty-eight Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television stations broadcast Sesame Street to Canada's English-speaking provinces. The Armed Forces Radio and Television Network agreed to air the first 130 of the US-made show for children of military personnel serving in 16 countries, including Iceland, Greece, Ethiopia, and South Korea.[3] During his tenure at CTW, Dann also made agreements with several Caribbean nations, Mexico, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, France, Israel, and Germany.[3] He later stated to author Michael Davis, "I was aggressive and I knew people around the world".[3] During the same period there were discussion about broadcasting the US version or even producing a British version of Sesame Street but British broadcasters found the show too controversial and rejected the idea. The American version was broadcast on a limited basis starting in 1971, but went off the air in 2001.[5]
In 2001, the Workshop introduced Sesame English, a series focused on teaching children and their families the basics of the English language and on familiarizing them with some aspects of American culture. As of 2009, it aired in several countries, including Japan, Korea, and Italy.[6] In 2003, in response to the epidemic of AIDS in South Africa, the co-producers of Takalani Sesame included the first preschool AIDS/HIV curriculum. They created the first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami, to confront the stigma of HIV and AIDS in South Africa. According to the documentary, The World According to Sesame Street, the reaction of many in the US surprised Sesame Workshop. Some members of Congress attacked Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop (the former Children's Television Workshop), and PBS. According to co-producer Naila Farouky, "The reaction we got in the US blew me away. I didn't expect people to be so horrible ... and hateful and mean".[2] The controversy in the US was short-lived, and died down when the public discovered the facts about the South African co-production, and when Kofi Anan and Jerry Falwell praised the Workshop's efforts.
As of 2006, there were 20 active "co-productions".[2] CTW vice-president Charlotte Cole,, in 2001, estimated that there were over 120 million viewers of all international versions of Sesame Street,[7] and by the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, they were seen in more than 140 countries.[8] In 2005, Doreen Carvajal of The New York Times reported that income from the co-productions accounted for US$96 million.[9] As Cole also stated, "Children's Television Workshop (CTW) can be regarded as the single largest informal educator of young children in the world".[7] Studies conducted on the effects of several co-productions (Mexico in 1974, Turkey in 1990, Portugal in 1993, and Russia in 1998),[10] found that viewers of these shows gain basic skills from watching them.[10] According to Cooper Wright, the Sesame Workshop's vice-president of International Co-Productions in 2006, their "mission" was to "help children reach their highest potential".[2] The producers of the international co-productions were further galvanized to accept this goal after the events of 9/11. Cooney stated, "Our producers are like old-fashioned missionaries. It's not religion they're spreading, but it is learning and tolerance and love and mutual respect".[2]
The earliest international versions were what then-CTW vice-president Charlotte Cole called "fairly simple",[1] consisting of dubbed versions of the show with local language voice-overs and instructional cutaways. Dubbed versions of the show continued to be produced if the country's needs and resources warranted it.[11] They utilized a variant of the flexible model called "the CTW model", developed by the producers and creators of the original show, to create and produce independently produced preschool television shows in other countries.[1] The Workshop recognized that the production model developed in the US, which reflected its needs and culture at the time, served as a framework for other countries that wanted to repeat it. According to the 2006 documentary, The World According to Sesame Street, the producers of the co-productions repeated the "experiment"[2] accomplished by the original US show, but adapted it to each specific situation. In 1969, the producers of the original show depended upon government and foundation funding, but as Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell stated in 2009, the US funding model would not necessarily be effective in countries with different economic and political structures.[11]
Imitating what the producers of Sesame Street did in the late 1960s, the need for preschool education in each country was accessed through research and interviews with television producers, researchers, and educational experts. Then they convened the experts in a series of meetings, held in the individual countries, to create and develop a curriculum, the show's educational goals, and its set and characters,[12] as also was done in the summer of 1968 for the US show.[13] Finally, they held a series of meetings, both at the CTW offices in New York City and in the individual countries, to train the co-production team in the CTW model.[2] Writing seminars were also held in New York.
In recent years, US cast members Kevin Clash and Marty Robinson have cast and trained the international puppeteers.[14] Muppet builder Kermit Love, and in later years, Jim Henson's Creature Shop, constructed the puppets for the new shows in the US. The producers of Sisimpur, the Bangladesh co-production, created their own traditional puppets because their puppet-making craft is thousands of years old and an important part of their culture.[2][12] The producers of each co-production developed and built their own sets, live-action videos, and animations in-country. After they developed, produced, and aired the new show, they conducted research to ascertain whether their curriculum goals were met, just as was done in the US after the first season of Sesame Street.[15] According to producer Nadine Zylstra, they faced unusual challenges rarely experienced in the US.[16] For example, riots and conflicts between Serbs and Albanians in 2004 delayed production of the Kosovo co-production for three months. In 2005, a nationwide strike in Bangladesh temporarily stalled production of their show.[2]
The co-productions consisted of unique characters, sets, and curricula designed to meet the needs of their own children. Cole reported that the goal of the co-productions was to provide children in each country a program that reflected their country's culture, local values, and educational priorities. She also stated that this "cultural specificity" was the reason for the co-productions' success, popularity, and educational impact.[7] The co-productions were able to combine universal curriculum goals that were common around the world with educational content that specifically addressed the needs of children in each country.[17] Another goal of the international co-productions of Sesame Street was, as executive producer Lutrelle Horne stated in 1987, the improvement of "the overall quality of a country's television". She also stated, "We give a country a model of how television can be used effectively to address people's needs".[18]
When countries were not able to afford the expenses of creating an original co-production, the Workshop provided what author Louise Gikow called other "creative" alternatives to air their own versions of Sesame Street.[19] They created Open Sesame, a series with no specific cultural references in it, and with, as Horne described, "universally acceptable material".[12] The show was also broadcast in US military bases. The Workshop's library of Muppet skits, short films, and animations were sold to many countries and either broadcast in English or dubbed in the local language. According to Gikow, it often served as the basis for the creation of new material for their own co-productions.[12] As of 2009, the Workshop opened its entire library of episodes, short films, and animations created all over the world so that poorer countries could use and adapt them for their purposes.[19]
The first international co-production of Sesame Street was Brazil's Vila Sésamo, which first aired in 1972 and had an initial run of two years. Its set, or "street", consisted of an open plaza. The Muppet Garibaldo was "the centerpiece" of the Brazil co-production and remained popular with viewers when the show was revived in 2007. Garibaldo's performer, Fernando Gomes, became a puppeteer because of the show's influence. It was broadcast in Portuguese.[11][20] Also in 1972, Plaza Sésamo was produced in Mexico. This co-production has also been broadcast in Puerto Rico and in Spanish-speaking Latin America since 1973, and has aired on Spanish television stations in the US since 1995.[21]
In 1973, Germany, one of the first countries to approach CTW, began airing Sesamstrasse. It has been continually produced since.[6] At first, this co-production incorporated original German animation and live action segments into the US version. Starting in 1978, its producers began using puppets filmed in their own studio in Germany.[22] The Netherlands' version, Sesamstraat, began in 1976. This show has aired in both Dutch and Flemish.[19] In its early years, Belgium television participated in its production, so it also aired there.[21] France aired Open Sesame in the early 1970s before creating its own co-production. One version, created in 1974, Bonjour Sesame, was fifteen minutes long and had no street scenes. 5, Rue Sésame, the most recent French version, began in 1976. Its set consists of a courtyard of a building in a small French town.[6]
The final two co-productions of the 70s, both made in 1979, occurred in Kuwait and Spain. The Kuwaiti show, Iftah Ya Simsim, was the first of its kind in the Arab world. It used Modern Standard Arabic, and was broadcast in 22 Arab countries.[23] Barrio Sésamo, made in Spain, featured a snail character who was able to hide a thousand and one things in her shell.[24]
Sweden's version of Sesame Street, Svenska Sesam (1981–1983), was originally a single season full co-production, but didn't integrate puppets. Dubs have aired before and after.[6] Israel filmed its co-production, called Rechov Sumsum, in 1983; it exposed Israeli children to children from different cultures. Its counterpart of Big Bird was a hedgehog named Kippi.[23]
Also in 1983, the Philippines created the first fully bilingual (Tagalog and English) version of Sesame Street.[16] The series broke off its relation with CTW after one season, continuing under the name Batibot until 2002; it was revived, still unlicensed, in 2010.[25][26] The series In 1989, Susam Sokağı, a co-production filmed in Turkey, featured various Big Birds and an "exuberant little-girl Muppet host" named Simi.[18] There have been three versions of Sesame Street in Portugal, including one co-production created in 1989. Rua Sésamo was also broadcast in the Portuguese-speaking nations Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, Cape Verde, and São Tomé. Play with Me Sesame is the title of the current version.[21][24]
Norway's co-production, entitled Sesam Stasjon, began filming in 1991. Russia's version, Ulitsa Sezam (Улица Сезам), debuted in 1996. No longer on the air,[18] one of its curriculum goals was to prepare Russian children to live in a "new open society".[17] Two further co-production launched in 1996, with Canada's Sesame Park and Poland's Ulica Sezamkowa. The first program furthered the local content shown, while the latter program has been since replaced by dubs of various Sesame Workshop program under the name Sezamkowy Zaketek.[19]
Canadian public broadcaster CBC Television's half-hour version was called Sesame Park.[27] The series featured a polar bear, otter, female bush pilot,[28] and a girl in a wheelchair.[29] This replaced previous broadcasts of the US version of Sesame Street, with local content substituted, running as Sesame Street Canada (1972–1996); a French dubbed version was shown in 1975.[11][20][21]
In 1998, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street, Zhima Jie, was created. An auto mechanic became the head writer of this show, broadcast in Mandarin Chinese, because there were few people with experience in writing for children in the country.[16][20] It has aired in 40 local markets, comprising 40% of all Chinese homes.[22] Its curriculum emphasized aesthetics.[30] The Chinese puppeteers were trained by Kevin Clash and Caroll Spinney.[2] Also in 1998, a fifteen-minute version of the Israeli show was dubbed in Arabic and renamed Shara'a Simsim; this Palestinian co-production promoted children's sense of national identity.[21][23]
In 2000, Egypt's co-production, entitled Alam Simsim (عالم سمسم), began to air throughout the Arab World and was broadcast in Arabic.[20][23] South Africa aired Takalani Sesame in 2003; it focused on AIDS education with the creation of the first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami.[31] The goal of Hikayat Simsim in Jordan, according to its producers, was to "promote respect in the face of conflict".[23] Afghanistan for a temporary period aired its first version of Sesame Street, called Koche Sesame in 2004.[23]
In 2005, Sisimpur aired in Bangladesh. This co-production's goal was to improve school achievement and decrease drop-out rates for grades K-3.[16] This difficult co-production, which was beset by political difficulties and severe flooding that delayed production, was depicted in the 2006 documentary, The World According to Sesame Street.[2] Also in 2005, the producers of the Kosovo co-production (Rruga Sesam/Ulica Sezam) pioneered a format called the "visual dictionary". Instead of showing individual words on the screen, children were encouraged to label words verbally. It gave a fair representation of all the languages in the region—Albanian, Romani, Serbian, and Turkish—and introduced children to each language.[18] The Workshop worked in conjunction with UNICEF to produce this show, to aid in the peace process between Albanians and Serbs. One of its goals was to demonstrate to Albanian and Serbian children that their counterparts were like them.[2]
In 2008, Cambodia produced Sabai Sabai Sesame, a dubbed version of the original US show, and Northern Ireland produced Sesame Tree, which was set in and around a whimsical tree.[24] Denmark created Sesamgade in 2009, which contained elements of Play With Me Sesame and locally produced segments with Elmo.[19]
Nigeria produced its own version of Sesame Street, called Sesame Square, in 2010. Previously, they aired the US version. Funded in part by a grant from the US government, the show focused on AIDS, malaria nets, gender equality, and yams. It also featured the HIV-positive Muppet Kami from the South African co-production.[32]
After an absence of ten years, and almost thirty years after the 1983 movie Big Bird in China, 53 eleven-minute episodes of Sesame Street's Big Bird Looks at the World, filmed in Mandarin Chinese, debuted in early 2011 in China. Inspired by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the program emphasized emergency preparedness.[33] Pakistan started airing its own Urdu-language version, called SimSim Humara which focused on women's rights and tolerance, in early 2011.[34] In late 2011, a Pashto and Dari version called Baghch-e-Simsim, partially funded by the US government, was launched in Afghanistan.[35]
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