SESAME WORKSHOP ANNOUNCES CO-PRODUCTION DEAL WITH CREATIVE INDIGO PRODUCTION FOR SESAME STREET SERIES IN INDONESIA
New York, NY, November 7, 2006
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, has announced a partnership with Creative Indigo Production, a cutting edge Jakarta-based company, for the production of a localized adaptation of Sesame Street in Indonesia. The new partnership will deliver three seasons of an original series with a total of 156 half-hour episodes.
To ensure the relevance and educational value of the series, curriculum development specialist Dr. Muhammad Zuhdi will oversee an educational plan developed with a panel of experts and educators in early childhood education and other specialties in Indonesia. To create this plan, advisors from throughout the country will gather in Jakarta this week for a two-day meeting to discuss Indonesian children's developmental needs and the way a Sesame Street project might help address them.
Mrs. Fawzia Aswin Hadis, the keynote speaker for the curriculum seminar, said, “The curriculum of Sesame Street is so interesting and appropriate for children’s needs and growth. The structure of the program can help children maximize their abilities.”
In addition to teaching basic cognitive skills such as literacy and math, the Indonesian version of Sesame Street will represent the vibrant diversity of Indonesia's vast archipelago, an area rich in culture, tradition, language and the arts. The series will celebrate the similarities and differences that are part of children's everyday lives and present a locally produced program with global relevance.
“It is an honor for Creative Indigo Production to have been selected to carry out this noble mission, which will reach children all over Indonesia with educational messages in an enjoyable and interesting way,” said Mr. Robby T. Winarka, Managing Director of Creative indigo Production. “Hopefully, this program will be the benchmark for other edutainment programs and make a meaningful difference in the lives of Indonesia’s young citizens.”
"We believe Creative Indigo Production will produce a high quality educational experience that will capture the hearts and minds of Indonesia's young children," said Sesame Workshop’s President and CEO Gary E. Knell. "We are confident the team will bring creativity and vision to Indonesia’s Sesame Street in a way that is unique to the world of children's media."
In addition to the seminar in Jakarta, other training and exchange will take place including a two-week workshop in New York to begin creating the series’ characters and set. This creative and content team together will further develop the series back home in Jakarta. Additional workshops with Creative Indigo's writers and puppeteers will be offered in Jakarta to hone their already extensive skills.
Creative Indigo Production is a growing production company with the core business in television programs, producing mostly infotainment programs, with a vision to provide relevant, reliable and significant TV programs in a global context, that it hopes will become part of audiences' lives.
As a trusted production house with strong creative skills, it acts with integrity and objectivity. Its commitment to excellence and the audience's interest is enforced through rigorous self-governance and public oversight. Its relationship with various TV stations is the result of maintaining customers' satisfaction with the programs the company has been producing.
Initial funding for Sesame Street Indonesia is made possible by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID has worked in partnership with the Indonesian Government for more than 40 years. Today, USAID/Indonesia has a $750 million, 5 year budget, which is targeted to assistance programs focusing on improving the quality of basic education, effective democratic and decentralized governance, economic growth that leads to jobs and prosperity, and improving the quality of basic human services; health, water, food and the environment. USAID is also helping to rebuild Aceh after the tsunami, with programs that also support the implementation of the Aceh peace accord, which ended 30 years of conflict in Aceh province.
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. As the single largest informal educator of young children, local Sesame Street programs produced in countries as diverse as South Africa, Bangladesh and India are making a difference in over 120 nations. Using proprietary research to create engaging and enriching content, Sesame Workshop produces programs such as Dragon Tales and Pinky Dinky Doo. In addition, multimedia needs-driven initiatives provide families tools for addressing such issues as children’s health, military deployment and emergency preparedness. As a nonprofit, product proceeds and philanthropic support endow Sesame Workshop’s educational research and creative content for children around the world. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.
Contact
Atun Purbo
iMediaworks
(62-21) 719-7776
apurbo_imediaworks@yahoo.com
Putri Rahartana
Creative Indigo Production
(62-21) 7590-3208
Putri2904@yahoo.com
