IJJJIJL £r~t MAR 2)8 20 J/' sesameworkshop. Gary £. Knell President and Chief Executive Officer March 12,2002 The Honorable Kofi Annan United Nations Secretary-General United Nations Headquarters New York, NY 10017 Dear Mr. Secretary-General: Thank you again for taping an appearance on Sesame Street last December Your visit to the set was an honor for the crew and staff who were there, and I am sure the segment's message of cooperation means a lot to the children who WclTCnGQ It. Now I am writing about a new initiative undertaken by Sesame Workshop I've always been proud that the Workshop has a long tradition of promoting respect and understanding among children. But the events of the last year and the to°bSe donf^ ^ °* ™T ^^ tOday' have convinced metha t a lot more needs I would like to invite you to make a keynote address at a meeting in May this year hriHntWHUPHa \T'!"^ ^ f0r ^ me«]a tobrea k down stereotypes bndge d.vides, and help our children become productive citizens of a world ' community. In attendance will be a select group of leaders from around the world who represent m dja, education, international institutions and non?3SrnS? organizations J believe that - together - we can create a coalition of partners from around the world to identify the strongest curricula and develop meaningful educat.onal content that will provide our children with a "passport" for our new The meeting, organized by the Workshop, will explore next steps and opportunities for creating this passport. It will be held at The Pocantico Conference Center of The Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, about one hour north of New York City. The Summit will start at 5 PM on Tuesday May 28 c±°± H6 ?V 4 ? Or!Thursda V' MaV 30, and we would be honored if yo'u could attend at any time that is convenient for you. One Lincoln Plaza New York Ny 10023 tel 212 875 6876 fax 212875 6111 MAR 2 9 2002 [email protected] EOSG/CENTRA www.sesameworkshop.org Elizabeth Nisbet will follow up with your staff to discuss your participation. She may be reached at (212) 875-6716 for additional information. With Gary E. Knell President and Chief Executive Officer Enclosures: An Initiative to Promote Mutual Respect and Understanding Sesame Workshop brochure sesameworkshopn An Initiative to Promote Respect and Understanding Now more than ever, the children of the world urgently need our help in developing values that foster respect and understanding. We believe that education is key to a long-term solution and media can play a critical role. Egypt's First Lady, Suzanne Mubarak, recently noted at an event celebrating the Egyptian production of Sesame Street, "In view of the contradicting currents in the world, our need for presenting our society, and especially our children, with targeted programs grows greater. Programs that develop their tolerance, strengthen their deep rooted values and ensure their benevolence and brotherly love and peace." The events of September 11 reinforced the Sesame Workshop's conviction that more must be done to help children understand that they are citizens of a world community that crosses national, racial, religious and ethnic boundaries. In response, the Workshop is seeking partners to undertake a major initiative dedicated to research and development of media content to foster respect and understanding among children of ages 2-14. For more than three decades, Sesame Workshop, a non-profit organization committed to education, has used the power of media to help children reach their highest potential. Sesame Street revolutionized children's media by demonstrating - for the first time - that cognitive and social skills can be taught through the medium of television. It also pioneered a new process, the Sesame Workshop model, of combining research and curriculum with production in a way that ensures that the "lesson" is communicated to and retained by its intended audience. Sesame Street became not only an extremely popular and effective children's show in America, but in the world, as well. These producers, working with local childhood education experts, were able to create local versions of the series that included culturally-relevant educational goals, sets and Muppets. From its inception, Sesame Street depicted a pluralistic and diverse landscape, helping young children to understand the heterogeneity of American society in a healthy and positive way. Through the years, Sesame Workshop has applied its "model" to target older age groups and new subject areas. It has tackled ever more challenging societal and developmental problems, including disabilities, death and natural calamities. Internationally, it has co-produced adaptations of Sesame Street that helped overcome divides and demystify the differences among children in countries such as Russia, South Africa and Egypt. In the last few years, the Workshop has even begun to work in areas plagued by ethnic and religious strife such as Israel/Palestine, Macedonia and Cyprus. iilitia Sezam (Russia) Sesame Street (U. 5} A New Initiative The Workshop envisions four broad action areas to the Initiative: "A- Identifying the developmental needs of children concerning respect and understanding and creating an educational curriculum with measurable impact. •*• Building a global network of partners to share resources, talent and knowledge to create educational multimedia projects. * Providing technical assistance and growing local capacity toward sustainability. •fr Creating a body of educational content across multiple media (television, radio, online, interactive and print materials) that provides children with greater awareness of their own cultures, introduces children to other cultures and fosters respect and understanding. The projects developed within the initiative will use curricula that have a special ability to promote the core values of respect and understanding. They may focus on such areas as world music, comparative religion, geography, history, resilience, conflict resolution and health. Sesame Workshop is undertaking this significant initiative in support of innovative efforts expected to span 5-10 years. In the beginning phase, resources will be used to conduct research, begin creative evelopment and pilot concepts and ideas. In later phases, the Workshop expects to build on these efforts to develop projects that are long lasting and sustainable with measurable impact on the lives of the children of the world. A New Coalition The first major step will be to hold a summit on May 28 at the Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund that will bring together senior decision makers - educators, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations, broadcasters, producers and funders - from around the world. There we will shape a plan; create specific next steps towards developing media projects; form preliminary partnerships in research, development, funding and distribution; and publicly announce the initiative and the development of a coalition in support of its efforts. Our dream? We hope the result of this initiative will be to help nurture a new consciousness among children that they are "citizens of the world," and that such citizenship holds the promise of a global community that crosses national, racial, religious and ethnic boundaries. With a committed coalition of partners, we think this initiative can shape attitudes and change behavior. We take inspiration from the words of Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Tahalani Sesame (South Aftica) Atam Stmstm (Egypt) .SllOp is a aiojipn u;-;.^^?-j.Cation lhat stands alone h; ;;N ai?I!ny io creiih^Jv oieel educational and developmental ;;eeiis itf children worl disparity in opportunity that poverty creates. So, too, was it the model for addressing gaps in mathematics achievement in this country (Square One TV), literacy !,.. , .-..-.•• .-. We bring (The Electric Company and Ghostwriter), and science and together the greatest talents technology (3-2-1 Contact and Cro). across disciplines to turn It continues today with, among other activities, media that ideas into action, channeling strengthen resiliency among preschoolers (Dragon Tales), children's natural attraction and the only 24-hour cable channel and online site to media in constructive ways. dedicated to educating and entertaining children ages The results are words, pictures, music, and magic that two through twelve (Noggin). make a difference in children's lives — a positive, lasting, measurable difference. Since our founding in 1968 as the Children's Television Workshop, ••_. : -:...^;:.-.;j .•:,.---.-.; : -.^---i .:, j rs.-i.-,. >.: .,'-•''- '••!• This is what makes us unique and is the foundation for outcomes that are not only educationally effective, but economically efficient, •-..-..,-. •:/ - ••;: ••-.-.;•. '.-•..••. ..-.,:. g,*,, ; : This was the model established first by Sesame Street, now the single greatest educator of young children in the world, and then a revolutionary response to easing the Sesame Worksho "work." Because research is our anchor and our compass. Children around the world benefit from Workshop activities. It informs every step in our process, from defining needs - in South Africa, where most children lack access to preschool and curriculum goals to guiding content development education, Takalani Sesame on television, radio, and through and measuring impact. community outreach helps all South