Editing Iftah Ya Simsim (section)

== History ==
A few months after the 1969 debut of ''[[Sesame Street]]'' on [[PBS]] in the US, producers from several countries all around the world approached the [[Sesame Workshop|Children's Television Workshop]] (CTW, later the Sesame Workshop, or "the Workshop"), the organization responsible for the show's production, to create and produce [[International co-productions of Sesame Street|versions of ''Sesame Street'']] in their countries.<ref>Cole ''et al.'' p. 148</ref> Co-creator [[Joan Ganz Cooney]] was approached by German public television officials about a year after the US version debuted. Many years later, Cooney recalled, "To be frank, I was really surprised, because we thought we were creating the quintessential American show. We thought the [[Muppets]] were quintessentially American, and it turns out they're the most international characters ever created".<ref name="world">{{cite AV media| people = Knowlton, Linda Goldstein and Linda Hawkins Costigan (producers) | year = 2006| title = The World According to Sesame Street| medium = documentary| publisher = Participant Productions }}</ref> She hired former [[CBS]] executive Mike Dann, who left commercial television to become her assistant, as a CTW vice-president. One of Dann's tasks was to field offers to produce versions of ''[[Sesame Street]]'' in other countries.  By summer 1970, he had made the first international agreements for what the CTW came to call "co-productions".<ref>Davis, pp. 209—210</ref>

Kuwaiti educators had reason to be interested in an Arabic co-production. Kuwait's 1980 census, conducted shortly after the original show's premiere, showed that 48% of its citizens were "either totally illiterate or&nbsp;... barely [able to] read or write".<ref>Al-Khulaifi, p. 2</ref> Several studies in Kuwait showed that parents' illiteracy adversely affected their children's educational and social development.  Half of Kuwaitis who lived in the rural areas of the country were illiterate.<ref>Al-Khulaifi, p. 3</ref> Literacy rates for women and girls were worse: UNESCO reported in 2005 that they "account for two thirds of the region's illiterates".<ref name="hammoud-4">Hammoud, p. 4</ref>  In 2000, before the revived show aired, the Arab region had some of the world's lowest adult literacy rates, at a little over 62%, which was well below the world average of 84% and in developing countries (almost 76.5%).<ref>Hammoud, pp. 3–4</ref>  The Kuwaiti 1980 census also showed that even though [[Kindergarten]] was free for its citizens, 30% of children aged 3 to 5 attended; the number was much lower for the 12 million preschoolers in the Arab world, at about 2%.  Girls attended school less commonly than boys in Arab countries.<ref name="hammoud-4" />

[[File:Joan Ganz Cooney.JPG|thumb|upright|alt=Black and white photo of a smiling woman about fifty years of age and wearing a jacket and tied-up scarf|''Sesame Street'' co-creator [[Joan Ganz Cooney]], in 1985.  Cooney was surprised that other countries were interested in producing their own versions of the American show.]]

In 1976, the Arab fund for Social and Economic Development held a series of workshops and seminars, attended by educators, mass media officers, and social planners, about preschool education in the region.   In 1978, educators, mass media officers, and social planners agreed to adopt ''Sesame Street'' as a feasible and economical solution for the low attendance in preschools.<ref>Al-Khulaifi, p. 6</ref> They approached the [[Children's Television Workshop]] (CTW), the producers of the American show, and purchased the rights to create an Arab version for US$2.5 million. With funding from the Arab Gulf States Joint Program Production Institution, movement was made to create a co-production for the children of Kuwait and for the Arab world. This program, called ''Iftah Ya Simsim,'' premiered in Kuwait and Morocco in 1979 and ran until 1989, when the [[Gulf War]] stopped production.<ref name="opensesame">{{Cite news|url = http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/television/open-sesame-cookie-monster-and-kermit-stage-a-comeback-as-iftah-ya-sim-sim-returns#full|title = Open Sesame! Cookie Monster and Kermit stage a comeback as Iftah Ya Sim Sim returns|last = Ghazal|first = Rym|date = October 7, 2013|work = The National|access-date = July 1, 2014|location = Abu Dhabi}}</ref> It was broadcast in 22 Arab countries, and continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air.<ref name="gikow-259">Gikow, p. 259</ref> In June 2010, the Sesame Workshop and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS), a regional [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] (GCC) organization dedicated to education, research, and development, agreed to bring back the show.<ref name="tradearabia">{{Cite news|url = http://www.tradearabia.com/news/edu_182091.html|title = Deal signed to relaunch Iftah Ya Simsim|date = June 27, 2010|work = Trade Arabia|access-date = July 1, 2014|location = Manama, Bahrain|agency = ME NewsWire}}</ref>