Iftah Ya Simsim reinforces its commitment to the Arab child's holistic development through dedicated digital presence

• Pioneering children’s Arabic TV show provides edutaining content of videos, games and tutorials through mobile devices online platforms
• Over 27 Million views and 96,000 subscribers on Iftah Ya Simsim’s official YouTube channel since the shows launch on TV less than 2 months

Dubai, UAE, November 1, 2015: The Arab world’s pioneering children’s edutainment show, Iftah Ya Simsim, is expanding its quality, content-rich offerings to a wider audience through special videos, e-books and games available across commonly used digital platforms such as YouTube and the show’s website among other online channels. This expansion of the Iftah Ya Simsim initiative into digital platforms compliments and helps to boost the program’s vision and well-researched content, currently being aired across 10 national TV channels in the GCC since its launch last month.  
With a deep rooted understanding of the 21st Century learner, Iftah Ya Simsim builds on its strong philosophy of creative and engaging educational content through dedicated digital platforms. With an offering of entertaining and educational playlists, videos, tutorials, activity sheets and games, parents and teaching professionals may also seek training and knowledge from this comprehensive bank of content.
The show which was once aired in the 80’s and is an adaptation of the world’s popular Sesame Street, was revived last month at a spectacular event in Abu Dhabi and launched across all the GCC national TV channels to reach a wide audience of Arabs’, old and young. Supported by the UAE Ministry of Education (MoE), the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), the Arab Bureau of Education in Gulf States (ABEGS), and the Joint Program Production Institute for Gulf States (JPPI), the new Iftah Ya Simsim rests on the firm foundation of hours of research and insights into the needs and habits of Arab children in the region, thus tailoring content to maximise its efficacy in facilitating their holistic development. 

Dr. Cairo Arafat, Managing Director of Bidaya Media said, “We are excited to strengthen our offering with a more active presence digitally. We recognize the need for on-demand and readily accessible content that the younger audiences are already familiar with, which is why we have worked to create safe and appropriate online platforms for children and parents to learn and explore”. 

“We are constantly striving to diversify our digital reach, and come up with creative ways to utilize the various platforms in order to create content that engages and educates the 21st century Arab child”, Dr. Cairo added. 

Children and parents now have access to numerous playlists and over 280 videos on YouTube which are added on a daily basis, focusing on reading, educational songs, exploring Arab culture through regionally relevant topics, and Arabic language acquisition through a series of video clips on each of the Arabic alphabets. Furthermore, Iftah Ya Simsim’s website serves as a convergent platform for all tutorials, episodes and over 80 activity sheets, including games which are linked to Lamsa- a unique interactive Arabic application offering great tools of learning and entertainment, thus increasing access via mobile devices. Another playlist showcasing the ‘classics’, or original Iftah Ya Simsim episodes from the 80s is also present on Youtube and the website, allowing for parents to soothe their sense of nostalgia, and for children to get a glimpse into the history of this groundbreaking show. With over 92,000 subscriptions and over 26 million views on the show’s YouTube channel, Iftah Ya Simsim is proving successful in effectively engaging children and parents with its exciting and informative content, in less than two months since its launch on TV in September.

Badr Ward, CEO of Lamsa said, ‘Collaborating with Iftah Ya Simsim to provide fun and educative games is a step forward for us. We now offer online versions of Iftah Ya SImsim stories, interactive learning sheets and Iftah Ya Simsim games on the Lamsa app which capitalizes on the preference of today’s Arab child while at the same time, ensuring their time spent playing these games helps them enjoy the process of learning and imbibing knowledge, language and culture of the region’. 

This effort perfectly complements the Iftah Ya Simsim educational toolkit developed by Bidaya Media with the support of ADEC, and accredited by the UAE MoE and ABEGS, which was recently launched and distributed exclusively amongst schools and education professionals across the gulf region. The toolkit aimed to provide schools and teachers with effective material and training on utilizing the edutaining content, while the digital presence now takes this initiative beyond the classroom. Furthermore, the toolkit will now be free to download via the official website for the parents to use for teaching their kids at homes.

With an already positive response to the content provided via digital media, Iftah Ya Simsim seeks to continue to reach out to Arab children and their families to further develop their Arabic culture and language acquisition, thus ensuring as many children in the region as possible, may benefit.