Across the globe, a universal language

The characters may vary, but the lessons and messages are the same.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Did you ever wonder how children around the world experience "Sesame Street"?
Do they know the same friendly, furry characters that little ones in the United States have grown to love? Well, not always. Each country has a few of its own special critters.
Since the upcoming Sesame Street Live production, "Out of This World," takes the Martians (and audience) to visit other countries, this might be the perfect opportunity to boost your "Sesame Street" savvy.
In Egypt, Sesame Workshop teamed up with AlKarma Edutainment to produce three seasons of their version of "Sesame Street," called "Alam Simsim." It teaches children not only about numbers and letters, but health and hygiene, the environment and encourages young girls to be proud of who they are.
Nimnim is a tall character who has that "Big Bird" look. He's not a bird at all, but the same sweet, loving personality. He is green with orange feet, and wears a colorful vest. Filfil is bright purple and is a know-it-all, usually creating more problems than solving them. These characters may be seen all across the Middle East.
Longer history
Germany's "Sesamstrasse" has a much longer history, dating back to 1973. One of its main characters is a big brown bear named Samson, who likes to dance the mambo. Going from the large to small, Finchen is an upbeat female snail. Rumpel is Oscar the Grouch's cousin who has a caterpillar friend named Gustav. Other characters include a horse, sheep, owl, bird and a 4-year-old monster. Bert and Ernie are also regulars in Germany.
"Sesame Street" has always had a commitment to teaching children both English and Spanish, so it is no surprise that "Plaza S & eacute;samo" has been around in Mexico and Latin America since 1972. Here, Big Bird is replaced by his cousin, Abelardo Montoya, a green parrot.
In the Netherlands, which made the "Sesame Street" connection back in 1976, Big Bird's other cousin, Pino, a big blue bird with an orange beak, is the star. Other Dutch characters include a little gray mouse named Leniemienie, and a sloppy baby pink pig named Purk.
In Russia, which has been airing its version of "Sesame Street," "Ulitsa Sezam," since 1996, Big Bird has been replaced altogether by a big blue spirit named Zeliboba, who lives in the hollow of a large oak tree and collects tacky neckties.
Characters' significance
While in some cases, one may wonder what, if any, significance these particular characters may have to any given country, in other cases, they were created to help children deal with specific local problems. In South Africa, one of the main characters is Kami, who is HIV positive, and teaches the children about AIDS.
Jennie Rose, Publicist for VEE Corp., producers of "Sesame Street Live," says the "Out of This World" production has a global theme to it. "Even though the audience will only see short clips of international characters on video during the show, the main message the children will learn is that, though we may be different around the world, we are still all earthlings," she said. "These characters have become recognizable to children and parents in every country. Everybody has their favorites, no matter where they live."
For more information, including online games, go to www.sesameworkshop.org/international.