When was Iftah Ya Simsim born?
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Iftah Ya Simsim (; 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 and was broadcast in 22 Arabic-speaking countries, running until April 6, 1990. The program continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air. 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 and illiteracy that plagued the region. 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.
Iftah Ya Simsim
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The show focused on Arab heritage, like the wedding rituals of countries in the region, and included Arab poems and songs. "Iftah Ya Simsim" premiered in Kuwait in September 1979, and was broadcast in all Arabic-speaking countries excluding Egypt. The show's opening consisted of a catchy tune that became beloved of its young viewers. As the song played, the opening footage showed children across the Arab world running past familiar landmarks like the Pyramids and playing in playgrounds and ancient alleyways before running into a white fort that had its gates open wide. The show's set consisted of an intricately traditional Arabian neighborhood called "Sharee Eshreen" (20th Street).
Iftah Ya Simsim
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According to researcher Ibrahim Al-Khulaifi, "In a few months, "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". The show continued to trigger nostalgia in its fans, some of whom watched its reruns well into the 1990s. Rym Ghazal of "The National" asserts that other co-productions made in the region could not compare to "Iftah Ya Simsim", which used actors and children from the region, known as Khaleeji, in their roles. Ghazal also stated, "No Arabic children's television show was as popular and influential in the Middle East in the 1980s as "Iftah Ya Sim Sim" ... That's because it offered an alternative way of learning that hardly existed in the Arab world at the time, just as "Sesame Street" had previously done in the West".
Iftah Ya Simsim
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"Iftah Ya Simsim" ran until 1990, when the Gulf War brought it to an end. According to Rym Ghazal of "The National", "Such was its popularity that it is said the Iraq invaders stormed the set ... taking away not just videos of the show but some of the Muppet costumes as prisoners of war. It is said that the Nu'man costume, as well as Cookie Monster were never found or returned to Kuwait".
Iftah Ya Simsim
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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". 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.
Iftah Ya Simsim
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"Iftah Ya Simsim "inspired "a flood of studies", from scientific research to doctoral or masters theses submitted to Arab, European, and American universities. No studies were conducted during the show's first five years, largely due to lack of government cooperation and unsuccessful attempts marred by subjects dropping out of the studies. In 1981, however, the JPPI invited children from Arab countries to Kuwait to access how they assimilated the program. Their attitudes about the show were assessed by education, social, and media specialists, who found that most viewers had benefited from watching it. Parents reported that their children's language use and ability improved, and the JPPI received many letters of appreciation and was commended for their efforts in producing the show. In 1984, in one of the first studies conducted researching the show's effects on its young viewers, Ibrahim Al-Khulaifi compared the relationship between the viewing behavior by the Kuwaiti preschooler of "Iftah Ya Simsim" and certain developmental and environmental variables. He found that variables such as socioeconomic status, parental education (especially that of the mother), sex, age, year in school, birth order, and family attitudes about the show influenced the frequency of viewing.
Iftah Ya Simsim
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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. The participants agreed to adopt "Sesame Street" as a feasible and economical solution for the low attendance in preschools and illiteracy and, 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" ("Open Sesame") premiered in Kuwait in 1979 and ran until 1990, when the Gulf War stopped production. It was broadcast in 22 Arab countries, and continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air. 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.
Iftah Ya Simsim
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"Iftah Ya Simsim" was the first children's educational TV program of its kind in the Arab world and the first "Sesame Street" co-production in the region. It was the first co-production to use Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). 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. Many of the early co-productions were simple, dubbed versions with local language voice-overs and instructional cutaways, but the GCC wanted to create their own original version.
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Misbah Al-Khayr and Hashim Al-Samira'i, in an article from the 1995 book "Children in the Muslim Middle East", reported on a study that sought to evaluate the influence of "Iftah Ya Simsim" on its Baghdad viewers' knowledge about language, general information, mathematics, science, and moral principles. The study found that 85% of all children residing in Baghdad had watched it and that they interacted with and were attached to many of its characters, who exposed viewers to the accents of the region. The most popular segments were those that contained cartoons, songs, and puppets. The show's viewers demonstrated an increase in their understanding and knowledge in all areas, especially information about their social and natural environment.
Iftah Ya Simsim
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"Iftah Ya Simsim" emphasized scientific thinking and the effects of technology on society. It sought to provide children with experiences that enriched their knowledge about their environment and improved their reasoning, through teaching them mathematical and geometric concepts. The show introduced its viewers to Arab history by citing important events, such as showing castles that were the center of historic battles. Geography was highlighted, especially the location of countries and their cities and capitals, which had the secondary effect of helping children increase their feelings of belonging and feeling proud of their Arab heritage. Children's social awareness, especially their comprehension of social roles and their functions, was also emphasized.
Iftah Ya Simsim