August 10, 2024 – Ahlan Simsim (“Welcome Sesame” in Arabic), is an initiative created by Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to deliver early childhood development and learning to children affected by conflict and crisis in the Middle East. Ahlan Simsim is the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response, reaching more than 1 million children through direct early childhood services and playful learning in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria and over 23 million children across the Middle East and North Africa through a locally produced Arabic language version of Sesame Street.
The Global TIES for Children conducted impact evaluations of Ahlan Simsim in Lebanon and Jordan. Key learnings from the studies show that several of its programs have had substantial impact on children’s language, numeracy, and social-emotional development. Findings from three randomized controlled trial (RCT) impact evaluations demonstrate that flexible, user-centered, evidence-based and culturally relevant early childhood services integrated with media content can support a wide range of child development outcomes, strengthen children’s learning at school and at home, and support lifelong positive outcomes – all with significant implications for delivering early learning in humanitarian and other contexts where traditional in-person schooling is not possible.