New Delhi: The popular kids’ programme Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of the internationally acclaimed TV series- Sesame Street, unveiled its all-new season on Doordarshan’s DD National.This season, the Galli friends bring important life messages to the young audience with an aim to help them understand and practice kindness.
In order to imbibe kindness skills into their lifestyle, children need to see adults and role models practice these behaviours for them to know what it means to be kind and respectful towards others.This is where Galli Galli Sim Sim and its cast of diverse muppets play a critical role.The overlaying thread of kindness runs across the Galli, in every possible way, and in all the fun that the characters have, be it echoing kind words like ‘Thankyou’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Please’ or educating the viewers about imbibing values of inclusion, respect, empathy, and being generous.
The season also introduces a new segment where Bert and Ernie take the viewers to the fairy tales land where they are seen enacting characters from the classic fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty, Little Riding Hood, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and many more. As kids visitthe fantasy world, they imbibe skills of helpfulness and problem-solving. There is a fresh segment centred on friendship which reflects colours of camaraderie shared by the characters, with an objective to build the seeds of kindness in children. All these segments of the show reinforce the values of kindness, caring, sharing and cooperationto the young viewers.
On the launch of Season 9, Sashwati Banerjee, Managing Director, Sesame Workshop India, says,“Multiple studies done across the globe confirm that what kids are exposed to in the early years has a long term impact in building lifelong habits. Unfortunately, today’s kids are growing up watching age-inappropriate content on television that may be violent, male-skewed and stereotypical, and this is impacting their thought processes. It is critical to expose them to content that helps them understand and respect differences, challenge stereotypes, cultivate empathy and helps them grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”
Supriya Sahu, Director General, Doordarshan, says, “As a publicservice broadcaster, we always look out for comprehensive content for our diverse and vast audience. Galli Galli Sim Sim teaches children important life lessons like executive functioning skills, health and hygiene, prosocial behaviours and much more. We are glad to take forward our partnership of past years with Galli Galli Sim Sim and create an impact through quality, age-appropriate content for children.”
Hisham Mundol, Country Head for India at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the organization which funds Galli Galli Sim Sim, says, “Galli Galli Sim Sim is a wonderful show that helps children improve learning and build personalities, all while having huge amounts of fun! It is the perfect companion to every parent and teacher in the country. This season, the show will address a much larger social issue of building kindness and we are proud to partner with Sesame Workshop India in this endeavour, and are grateful to Doordarshan for their support.”
In all the fun, laughter and excitement, GalliGalliSimSim’s Season 9 inculcatescritical skills among children by providing them the language and strategies to understand and practice kindness and empathy.With a reach of 14 million viewers[1], GalliGalliSimSimis watched on Doordarshan’snetwork of channels: DD National, DD Rajasthan, DD Uttar Pradesh, DD Bihar, DD Madhya Pradesh, DD Sahyadri and DD Girnar.
[1] 1 BARC India;TG:2-14 yrs;Period:Wk8’17-Wk26’17;Variable:Gross coverage across all airings
Channels:DD National,DD MP,DD UP,DD Rajasthan,DD Bihar,DD Girnar,DD Sahyadri
