USAID Brings Sesame Street to India
World Class Education Program to Reach Preschoolers in Rural Areas

August 9, 2004

NEW DELHI -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping bring the well-known television series for preschoolers, Sesame Street , to India . Fuzzy, furry "Muppet" characters Elmo, Cookie, Bert and Ernie, loved by children all over the world, will help preschoolers - especially those in rural areas - to laugh, learn and grow.

With a $500,000 grant from USAID, Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization,
will design and develop an Indian version of the series, featuring its own, specially created
Indian Muppet.

The program will prepare children for school by introducing them to simple concepts and encourage them to use their imagination, think independently and appreciate the diversity of their surroundings.

"Sesame Workshop's goal is to create engaging educational content where there is a need," said Gary E. Knell, Sesame Workshop's President and CEO. "We are thrilled to begin the process in India and thankful to USAID for their generous support."

The initiative will make a special effort to reach preschoolers who do not have access to television, especially those who live in rural areas. In addition to broadcasting on national and cable television, the series will be specially adapted for radio listening.

Special print and video materials will be designed to reinforce key program messages.
Significantly, the effort will build in special elements to encourage girls to attend school and to be treated equitably.

USAID's support to Sesame Workshop represents the creative use of cutting-edge media technology to meet the development objective of "universal primary education," a concept promoted by the Government of India. Materials for the program will be developed in consultation with Indian educators, media programmers and child development experts to help localize the content. They will also draw on lessons learned from over 20 developing countries - including Egypt and South Africa - where the program has been a success.

The effort will engage a wide variety of partners from the corporate sector, nongovernmental organizations and other donors to help put in place the building blocks for solid preschool education programming in the country. It is supported by USAID's Global Development Alliance (GDA) initiative, which seeks to combine the strengths and resources of the public and private sectors to build ownership for local development.