09/11/2005

Supporting Literacy in the Arab World - Sesame Workshop convened a conference on Arabic literacy & language acquisition in early childhood, funded by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation.

A group of twenty-one teachers, researchers, and media specialists from Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon, joined Sesame Workshop staff and representatives of Sesame Street’s Jordanian, Palestinian, Egyptian and Israeli coproduction teams at the Dead Sea, Jordan, to discuss an array of issues related to the use of multi-media to promote literacy skills. In addition to their geographic diversity, the meeting participants reflected a range of professional backgrounds including: linguistics, media production, education, research, and developmental psychology.

Building on more than two decades of Sesame Workshop media projects in Arabic, the conference provided an opportunity to coalesce the expertise of advisors on this subject, while also serving as a unique forum for individuals from various countries to meet and share their related experiences and their challenges, projects, and plans for developing Arabic-language media interventions.

During the two days of meetings, presentations, and continual discussion, the conference participants engaged in a dynamic dialogue – exchanging ideas, opinions and plans for new innovative projects and proposed partnerships. Funding for the conference came from two sources: the MBI Al Jaber Foundation and from an anonymous donor. The conference succeeded in meeting its stated objectives, identifying several issues and serving as a springboard for future media-based literacy intervention.

The Executive Summary of Meeting Results can be downloaded here.

For further information, please contact:
Director of Public Relations
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