Children
Child rights action with informed and engaged societies
Children
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
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Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam Children's TV Series

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In November 2004, the non-profit educational organisation Sesame Workshop launched a Sesame Street-based television series dubbed into 2 languages - "Rruga Sesam" (Albanian language) and "Ulica Sezam" (Serbian language) - that includes locally produced live-action film segments. The series aims to provide preschool children (ages 3 to 6) with early education skills and to promote awareness of their own cultures and those of their neighbours by communicating messages of respect and understanding. The current (as of June 2008) season airing in Kosovo (season 2) consists of 26 episodes, within which there are 26 live action films.
Communication Strategies

This project uses the medium of television to both entertain and educate the children of Kosovo. "Rruga Sesam" and "Ulica Sezam" each consist of 52 half-hour episodes that cover basic cognitive skills including literacy and numeracy, as well as social and emotional skills. The series, featuring Sesame Street Muppet and animation segments, airs on public broadcaster RTK, a multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic network. "Ulica Sezam" is also airing on Serbian broadcasters DTV, TV Most Zvecan, and TV Herc Strpce.

The series features 26 live-action segments produced in Kosovo by CMB (a production company based in Prishtina), in collaboration with DTV. The live-action films, which emphasise respect and understanding, are based on an educational curriculum developed in collaboration with a production team including both an ethnic Albanian and Serbian content advisor. The films celebrate diversity and aim to bring viewers together through portraits of children's daily lives, family relationships, and cultural elements such as festivals, language, dance, and music. Information is provided about such topics as ethnicity, culture, religious diversity, and health. Featuring both Albanian- and Serbian-speaking children from Kosovo, the segments are designed to introduce children from all ethnic groups to the unique aspects of their culture and to tell their stories through their eyes. In the words of Gary E. Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop, "When you see children, whether they are of Serbian or Albanian ethnicity, playing, learning or doing the same things you do daily, it humanizes your neighbor. We hope it will provide a start toward a more peaceful future."

An educational outreach initiative to extend and reinforce the series' educational messages is in development. Flashcards, growth charts, and activity books were created and translated into Albanian and Serbian, in both Cyrillic and Roman scripts. The kits were distributed to teachers, parents, and children at childcare centres, as well as community and health centres. UNICEF helped to develop, and disseminated, these materials.

Development Issues

Children, Education, Conflict.

Partners

Funding for the first series was provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (IFA), the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations Children's Fun (UNICEF). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) helped underwrite the costs of the initial fact-finding trip that helped launch the project in Kosovo. Season 2 was made possible by support from the United States Agency for International Development) (USAID), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo.

Sources

Press release forwarded by Richard Lin to The Communication Initiative dated November 8 2004; and email from Lauren J. Ostrow to The Communication Initiative on June 19 2008.