Iftah Ya Simsim
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
In late 2013, fifteen writers and producers from Bidaya Media attended training about its education methodology and production techniques from the staff of the American show in New York. The "Saudi Gazette" reported that "Iftah Ya Simsim" was in pre-production in March 2014, and that the first phase of auditions took place in April 2014, after, according to Al-Sharhan, a year of designing the show, "with input from child development experts, educators and cultural consultants". A casting call for a competitive search of performers specializing in puppeteering, voice, singing, and movement was sent to universities, theaters, and cultural centers in Abu Dhabi, where it was filmed, and through social media. They cast Arabic-speaking performers, although no prior acting experience was required. Dina al Saleh, a puppeteer from "Alam Simsim", the Egyptian co-production, screened the first group of candidates, and then the final cast of seven puppeteers were chosen after ten days of workshops, which the "Saudi Gazette" called ""master level training" with Marty Robinson and other Sesame Workshop puppeteers from New York. According to an editorial in "The National", the new version of the show was significant because it encouraged Emiratis and other Arabs to become more involved in filmmaking and, more importantly, it focused on "locally relevant Arabic-language content that will seek to educate present and future generations".