Editing Iftah Ya Simsim (section)

=== Production ===
Its development was similar to that of the American version of ''Sesame Street'' in the late 1960s. The GCC considered creating a co-production for many years, so consultations were held among its member countries regarding how to do so.<ref name="alkhayr-464" /> Many of the early co-productions were simple, dubbed versions with local language voice-overs and instructional [[Cutaway (filmmaking)|cutaways]], but the GCC wanted to create their own original version.<ref name="opensesame" />

They established the Joint Program Production Institute (JPPI) to work with the CTW to create a ''Sesame Street'' co-production in addition to creating several children's TV shows. The JPPI formed a team, which visited the CTW in New York to negotiate the production of 130 30-minute programs,<ref name="alkhayr-464">Al-Khayr & Al-Samira'i, p. 464</ref> purchasing the rights to create an Arab version for US$2.5&nbsp;million, and bringing in experts from throughout the Arab world "to introduce an all encompassing Arabic curriculum that would teach and cultivate Arab values and culture".<ref name="opensesame"/>

There were three stages in the production of the show. The first stage was pre-production research, which identified basic education needs for children under the age of six.<ref name=":0" /> The second stage involved the creation of a pilot reel to test children on the show's effects and for review by educators, sociologists, psychologists, and other experts, who were invited to a seminar. Finally, the series was filmed and aired. Research began in August 1977; the team was led by an educator and included a linguist and a psychologist, all of whom were on the faculty of [[Kuwait University]]. The show was tested on different socioeconomic groups of children, between the ages of three and six, in kindergartens and preschools in four representative cities from Arab countries. The team proposed curriculum goals based upon the research and, during a seminar, Arab and CTW educators agreed on ten final goals.<ref name=":0">Al-Khulaifi, pp. 7—8</ref>

''Iftah Ya Simsim'' premiered in Kuwait and Morocco in September 1979, and was broadcast in all Arabic-speaking countries.