Hikayat Simsim

Hikayat Simsim
حكايات سمسم
Genre	Children's television
Inspired by	Sesame Street
Country of origin	Jordan
Original language	Arabic
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	104
Production
Production companies	Sesame Workshop Jordan Pioneers

Hikayat Simsim (Arabic: حكايات سمسم) is the Jordanian co-production of Sesame Street, which began airing in 2003.^[1] It is co-produced by Sesame Workshop and Jordan Pioneers, an Amman-based company.

History

Twenty-six episodes of Hikayat Simsim were initially produced, which began airing in Jordan in October 2003 on Jordan Television, Jordan's public television station. A second season was in production by late 2005 and debuted in January 2007, later followed by a third and fourth season.^[2]

A community outreach initiative supplemented the television series.^[2]

The project is funded in large part by project partners, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bank of Jordan, and ArtVenture.^[1]

Content

The program was created, written, and produced by local educators and television professionals.

The show combined segments featuring Muppet characters with animation and live action pieces, which introduced Jordanian children to positive images of themselves and others.

Messaging

Hikayat Simsim focuses on subjects such as literacy, numeracy, health and hygiene, national identity, needs of Iraqi refugee children, mutual respect, and tolerance.^[1] In 2010 the production began incorporating messaging regarding road safety after joining the Global Road Safety Partnership.^[3][4]

Characters

The main Muppet characters in the Jordanian production are Juljul and Tonton. Tonton is a 4-year-old girl who loves soccer and furthers the show's message of girls' empowerment, while Juljul teaches children about computer literacy.^[5][6] Issa Sweidan played the production's grandfather figure, Jiddo Simsim.

In other media

Tonton was used in early pitches for Ahlan Simsim and made a special appearance in one episode of the show. She was also used for outreach programs for Syrian refugees starting in 2016.^[6][7][8]

External links

• Official Facebook page

References

1. "Hikayat Simsim". Sesame Workshop. 2013-09-04. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
2. "Sesame Stories (Sippuray Sumsum/Hikayat Simsim)". The Communication Initiative Network. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
3. "Hikayat Simsim joins Global Road Safety Awareness Partnership". Ammon News. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
4. "Hikayat Simsim Spreading Road Safety Awareness". Global Road Safety Partnership. 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
5. "Meet Sesame Street's Global Cast of Characters". Smithsonian Magazine. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
6. Brune, Adrian (2018-03-05). "Meet the Muppet Bringing Joy to Syrian Refugees". OZY. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
7. "Meet some of the young Syrian lives the IRC and Sesame Street will change". International Rescue Committee. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
8. Louszko, Ashley; Effron, Lauren (25 August 2017). "How Elmo and friends are using Muppet magic to bring hope, education to refugee children". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-01-05.