Iftah Ya Simsim

Iftah Ya Simsim
Opening theme"Iftah Ya Simsim Theme Song"
Ending themevarious closing themes
Country of originKuwait
United Arab Emirates
Iraq
Morocco
Saudi Arabia
Original languageArabic
No. of episodes390
Production
Running time28 minutes (original series)
30 minutes / 15 minutes (revival series)
Production companiesOriginal series:
Children's Television Workshop
Revival series:
Bidya Media
Mubdala
Sesame Workshop
Original release
NetworkSyndication
Spacetoon
Release14 September 1979 (1979-09-14) –
23 June 1989 (1989-06-23)
Release1 September 2015 (2015-09-01) –
5 September 2019 (2019-09-05)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Iftah Ya Simsim (Arabic: افتح يا سمسم; meaning "Open Sesame") is the first international co-production of the American children's television series Sesame Street created in the Arab world. It premiered in Kuwait on September 14, 1979,[1] and was broadcast in 22 Arabic-speaking countries, running until June 23, 1989, due to the outbreak of the first Gulf War.[2][3] The program continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air.[4][5]

A few months after its premiere, Iftah Ya Simsim became one of the most popular and successful programs for children in many Arab states. Critics called it "one of the most successful pan-Arab collaborations of educators, creators, writers and artists from the Middle East".[6] The show inspired many studies, which demonstrated that children benefited from watching it. In 2010, efforts began to revive the show for a new generation of young viewers in the Arab world. In late 2013, fifteen writers and producers from Bidaya Media attended training about its educational methodology and production techniques from the staff of the American show in New York. Iftah Ya Simsim was in pre-production in March 2014, and the first phase of auditions took place in April 2014. The new series debuted on September 1, 2015.[7]

The reboot is a collaboration between the Abu Dhabi Education Council, Twofour54, Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States and Bidaya Media.[8]

  1. ^ Al Doshi, Bandar. "افتح يا سمسم بعامه الـ50.. تعرف على بداية أنجح البرامج". Al Arabiya.
  2. ^ Barone, Joshua (September 2015). "Arabic 'Sesame Street' Returns for First Time Since Gulf War".
  3. ^ "After 25-Year Hiatus, First Arabic-Language 'Sesame Street' Opens Again". NPR.
  4. ^ "«افتح يا سمسم» برنامج جمع الخليجيين حول شاشة التلفزيون". aleqt.com. December 25, 2012.
  5. ^ "أحمد الصالح.. يتذكر شخصية «العم عبدالله» في «افتح يا سمسم» ويترحم على الزمن الجميل". Al Riyadh.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference national was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Dickson, Jeremy (September 2, 2015). "Arabic-language Sesame Street returns after 25-year hiatus". KidScreen. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Al Subaihi, Thamer (September 1, 2015). "Iftah Ya Simsim launches after 25-year hiatus". The National. Retrieved March 10, 2017.