SESAME WORKSHOP TO SET UP NGO IN INDIA & NAMES SASHWATI BANERJEE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
New Delhi, INDIA and New York, NY, June 12, 2006
In order to develop strategies and partnerships that ensure Galli Galli Sim Sim, an alliance between Turner India and Sesame Workshop, delivers on its mission to educate and engage preschool children throughout India, Sesame Workshop will be forming a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New Delhi. Turner India has contributed Corporate Social Responsibility funds toward the establishment of the NGO. The office will drive Galli Galli Sim Sim’s outreach projects and manage its network of collaborative partnerships with other NGOs, funding partners, consumers, government agencies, educational institutions, broadcasters, and production team members.
Galli Galli Sim Sim is a broad-based, multi-platform educational initiative for young Indian children. A television show of the same name will debut later this year on India’s leading kids’ channels, Cartoon Network and POGO. The outreach campaign will extend the educational impact of the show by reaching out particularly to underprivileged children and the adults who care for them, through materials and programs in various media.
In addition, the Workshop has named Sashwati Banerjee to become Executive Director of the NGO once it is established, while Shari Rosenfeld, Vice President, Developing and Emerging Markets, Sesame Workshop, will oversee it.
“Sashwati, with over 15 years of experience in creative and management positions, is deeply committed to children’s and women’s rights issues,” said Rosenfeld. “We are thrilled that she will be joining our team to lend her expertise in raising the profile of Galli Galli Sim Sim, an initiative aimed at promoting joyful learning of basic life skills for India’s young children, and celebrating the diversity that is a part of their every day lives.”
Congratulating Banerjee on her appointment, Soumitra Saha, Senior Vice President, Regional Advertising Sales and Marketing, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, & Project Director, Sesame India said, “With her experience and well-honed skill set in the niche segment of social sector, Sashwati Banerjee is well-positioned to spearhead and successfully extend the long term educational objectives of Galli Galli Sim Sim to reach millions of young kids through the specially designed outreach campaign.”
Most recently, Banerjee was the Program Director and Communications Advisor with Abt Associates, for the Private Sector Partnership One Project. Funded globally by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Project provides technical leadership to expand the private sector’s interest, ability and direct involvement in the sustainable provision of quality reproductive and other health information, and products and services in the developing world.
Prior to this position, Banerjee worked with the leading communications agency Ogilvy & Mather, where she was instrumental in setting up their healthcare division. In her capacity as the Business Manager, she designed and led successful campaigns for her clients in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, Banerjee has worked with nonprofit organizations on projects as diverse as coordinating large photo exhibits to contributing to the development of a publication about the reproductive health status of women in India.
Sesame Workshop is a US-based nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in the lives of children around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and groundbreaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Sagwa, and Pinky products back into its educational projects for children around the world. Find the Workshop online at www.sesameworkshop.org.
Contact
Pooja Ahluwalia
Phone: 41699123, New Delhi
Email: pooja.ahluwalia@turner.com
