New fun and engaging audio, video, e-books featuring funny furry loveable Sesame muppets -will be available across public and private media platforms

(Date TBA, 2020 – Delhi, India) – Starting today, Sesame Workshop in India, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street, will be premiering new animated public service announcements to help families across India stay physically and emotionally healthy as the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic continues. 

The audio and video content will be available in English and 11 Indian languages [Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Kashmiri, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Gujarati, Marathi] and will include Elmo’s new “Washy Wash” song, as well as Sesame Muppets learning how to sneeze properly and how caring for yourself, means caring for each other. And with children currently out of school, Sesame content also provides early learning to children at home. Both audio and video content will be available across TV, radio and digital platforms operated by Govt of India as well as private media houses. Govt. of Uttar Pradesh will be distributing content over TV, radio, DIKSHA app, WhatsApp and in Maharashtra the content will be available on DD Sahyadri. Some of the new content premiering today includes the following videos:

• Washy Wash with Elmo: Families can sing along with Elmo as he washes his hands for 20 seconds—washing the germs away and helping everyone stay healthy.

•  Learning how to sneeze and cough safely with Grover: Grover helps children remember that when they feel a tickle in their noses or throats, they should remember to sneeze or cough into their upper sleeve or elbow—that helps keep the germs off their hands and away from other people. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

•  Time to Wash Your Hands! Sesame Muppets demonstrate different situations where children and families should wash hands—after coughs and sneezes, before eating, after playing, after using the bathroom and more.

•  Caring for Myself, Caring for Others:  Sesame Muppets help children understand that when you take good care of yourself, you’re taking good care of others, too.

“As families across India adjust to their new realities, our Sesame programme is there to support them in staying healthy and fostering learning at home while children are out of school,” said Sonali Khan, MD, Sesame Workshop India. “With a little help from the funny and furry muppets, together we can help children and families, especially the vulnerable, learn healthy habits and take care of each other during this crisis.”

Sesame Workshop India, through its muppets has always been at the forefront in promoting healthy habits for life through its various programmes in India, as it believes that children can indeed be agents of change. Through its YouTube channel Galli Galli Sim Sim it has reached ~4.2Mn children and caregivers in the last one month.

The emotional, social and physical development of children has a direct impact on the overall development of the country and this assumes greater significance, as children 0-14 years comprise ~ 30 percent or approx. 37 crores of the total population of India as per the census 2011 figures.  

In India, Sesame Workshop’s community engagement programs such as Radiophone and mobile community viewings have successfully proven that children who are exposed to its content are twice as ready for school, have a higher awareness of healthy foods, hygiene and show increased signs of inclusion. The programmes equip children and their caregivers, with the necessary tools required to transform everyday moments into playful learning experiences, helping to set children on the right path to life.

In addition to the new videos, Sesame Workshop India offers free materials such as e-books, audio episodes, video episodes, and digital games for parents and children. The new videos are part of Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative, which provides a rich array of Sesame content designed to comfort, educate, and entertain parents and children during the unprecedented uncertainty facing young children and families around the world. Free resources are available for families at sesameworkshopindia.org/what-we-do

Sesame Workshop resources are easy to use and are designed to help parents provide comfort and manage anxiety, as well as help with creating routines, fostering playful learning at home, including staying physically and mentally healthy. Mindful that the adults who care for children need support too, the resources are intended to help caregivers as well as children. Sesame Workshop is offering the content free of cost for families around the world who are struggling to adjust, adapt, and keep each other safe.

Sesame Workshop is also developing new content including animations on healthy habits, resources providing comfort, and learn-at-home activities on topics including reading, math, and science, that will be available in English, Hindi and other regional languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Kashmiri.

About Sesame Workshop India

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, reaches over 180 million children across more than 150 countries with research-based, tested, and proven educational interventions designed to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We are active in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a range of media, formal education, and social impact programs, each tailored to the communities we serve.

Sesame Workshop India was established in 2006 to meet the unique needs of vulnerable children in India. Sesame Workshop India’s programmes focus on low-resourced communities to bring children and their caregivers language and strategies that have a proven impact on their health and wellbeing, social-emotional skill development, literacy, and numeracy. Programming channels include mass media, such as Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian production of Sesame Street, and community engagement activities. We are now expanding our ongoing early childhood development programs in underserved communities delivered in conjunction with critical programs such as education, WASH, and girls education in India. Sesame Workshop India’s programs will teach young children and empower them to be agents of change in their homes, schools, and communities through an engaging curriculum of storytelling, games, songs, and films. For more information, visit us at sesameworkshopindia.org

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