Ideas: Sesame Street Debuts in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Forget the elite strategy – why not go young and think long-term? A localized version of Sesame Street has debuted in Pakistan, following the premiere of the Afghan version a week earlier.
Rani, a soon to be famous character on Pakistan's Sesame Street "Sim Sim Hamara"
In the more than 40 years that the children’s program Sesame Street has been in production, more than 100 localized versions have debuted around the world.
Add two more this month: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both teach basics, tolerance, and address illiteracy — with special attention paid to girls.
For international broadcasters, traditionally obsessed with reaching “elites,” this strategy is exactly the opposite, attempting to reach the most powerless of society.
Traditionally targeting the kindergarten age group, even the most broad demographic statistics in these two countries point to an opportunity. Both have young populations – 42% of Afghans are under the age of 14, and the median age is 18. Pakistan is more proportional, but still 35% of Pakistanis are under the age of 14, and the median age is a young 21.5 years.
Both countries share low literacy rates — especially among women. In Afghanistan just 21% of the adult population is literate, with a substantially lower 12.6% literacy rate for women. In Pakistan, the numbers are 50% and 36%, respectively. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, fewer than 50% of Afghan children between the ages of 7 and 13 attend school.
Pakistan’s Sim Sim Hamara is heavy on original puppetry production with an overall budget, funded largely by USAID, that could reach as much as $20 million over four years. Taking a different tack, Afghanistan’s Baghch-e-Simsim will largely re-purpose existing Sesame Street content, re-voicing Muppet sketches in the Dari and Pashto languages. The aim is to produce 26 episodes at a cost of $1 million, underwritten by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
A promo for Sim Sim Hamara…
Download ] Download ] Download ]…and video from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty showing the voicework and editing that transforms Sesame Street into Baghch-e-Simsim…
Additional reporting on Sim Sim Hamara from the BBC, and more on Baghch-e-Simsim from RFE/RL.
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Category: Asia News, Central Asia News, Ideas and Innovation, News By Region
