BERT, ERNIE AND THEIR FURRY FRIENDS RETURN FOR A NEW SEASON OF RRUGA SESAM & ULICA SEZAM IN KOSOVO
26 Locally-Produced Original Live-Action Films include More Local Content Featuring Communities Throughout the Region
New York, NY and Kosovo, October 30, 2006
It’s time to celebrate learning through play with Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and the rest of their friends, as they return this fall for a fresh, new season of Rruga Sesam (Albanian language) and Ulica Sezam (Serbian language) in Kosovo! This season, 26 new episodes feature innovative Muppet segments from Sesame Street’s international library, as well as more local content including 26 original and locally produced live-action segments highlighting similarities of children from different ethnicities living in Kosovo, and the importance of play in their lives. New songs include topics such as games, traffic safety, people in my neighborhood and feeling good about oneself. Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam premiered yesterday throughout Kosovo on RTK, and will also broadcast regionally by three Serbian language broadcasters, DTV, TV Most Zvecan and TV Herc Strpce.
This season, new live-action films capture the essence of a child’s life in Kosovo, presenting children and families from Albanian, Serbian, and Roma descent, in everyday situations, offering viewers throughout Kosovo a window into the world of children living, learning, and laughing in various communities. For example, through a musical montage of children playing, viewers learn that children from all ethnicities enjoy games. In another segment where children are making toys out of every-day objects in a kindergarten classroom, viewers are encouraged to appreciate their natural environment and invent their own games. Through a visual dictionary series, viewers are presented with a world of words in Albanian, English, Roma, Serbian, and more, as they see an action or object presented on screen and then hear it spoken aloud in a variety of languages. Whether they are singing, dancing, running, cooking, cleaning, inventing or laughing along with their friends on TV, children in Kosovo will recognize the fun in learning about language, trying new foods, helping others and nurturing their environment. The live-action films are based on an educational curriculum developed by educators in Kosovo in consultation with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, and produced by CMB.
"Children throughout the region will identify with this new season of Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam because the content truly reflects their environment," said Gary E. Knell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sesame Workshop. “While there is an emphasis on important skills such as literacy and numeracy, appreciation for cultural diversity is also highlighted in an effort to embrace hope and help provide a foundation for children in Kosovo to build a brighter future.”
Sesame Workshop continues to expand its efforts to encourage all children to reach their highest potential through this groundbreaking project, which debuted in 2004. Viewers and their caregivers can also look forward to new Muppet and animation segments tailored to enhance important educational skills for children age three to six, as well as two new storybooks and a facilitator guide for parents, caregivers and teachers as part of the program’s outreach initiative developed in collaboration with UNICEF. These materials will provide children and their families with books to enrich their environments, and parent-directed tips to extend the Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam experiences into educational activities beyond the television screen. Outreach materials are printed in Albanian and Serbian languages, and are scheduled to be distributed early next year, free of charge.
Season two of Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam is made possible by generous support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development), SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), and OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Mission in Kosovo. The series is produced by Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with local partner CMB. Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam debuted in November 2004, providing preschool children with critical early learning skills and fostering respect and understanding.
Contact
Shpresa Mulliqi
+381-38-500-162 ext.1339, in Austria
Shpresa.Mulliqi@osce.org
