The groundbreaking impact of Ahlan Simsim

In 2018, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, partnered to create an early childhood intervention supporting children living in crisis and conflict affected regions to grow and thrive.The initiative is called Ahlan Simsim, which means “Welcome Sesame” in Arabic, and is the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response.

Studies on Ahlan Simsim’s initiatives, published by the NYU Global TIES for Children global research center, demonstrate the power of quality early childhood programs integrated with educational media. These findings have groundbreaking implications for our ability to level the playing field for children around the world who are unable to access traditional in-person preschool.