Iftah Ya Simsim wins big at Arab Radio and TV Festival

Shams by Asma Al Shamsi. Shooting of Iftah Ya Simsim, arabic adaptation of Semsame Street. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

The Arabic adaption of Sesame Street, Iftah Ya Simsim, has won big at this year's Arab Radio and TV Festival in Tunis.

The edutainment television series targeted to children between 4 and 6 years of age won second prize in the 18th edition of the regional awards.

The Arabic series is overseen by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Education Council, twofour54, the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States and Bedia Media.

After a 25-year hiatus, the show went back in production and on air in 2015. Iftah Ya Simsim is broadcast on nine regional stations, including Abu Dhabi Al Emarat TV and Sharjah TV.

The show was among hundreds of Middle Eastern television and radio programmes that were submitted to a panel of media and cultural experts of the annual awards that is organised by the Arab States Broadcasting Union.

The show's Back to School episode was among the nominations in the children's section. The episode was available to watch across the region on YouTube and TV.

Iftah Ya Simsim was first launched in 1979, in partnership with the American production house and creators in Kuwait. It was relaunched in 2015 with the old time favourite characters Bader and Anees (Bert and Ernie), revamped versions of characters like No'man the camel and Malsun the parrot.

Iftah Ya Simsim is producing 52 episodes for its next season. Season two will have new storylines and educationally stimulating Arabic content that will be available on television stations throughout the GCC and Middle East. A special 30-episode series has also been created for Ramadan, which will be aired daily.

Show details on www.iftahyasimsim.com​