Sesame Street wins prestigious Cine Golden Eagle Awards

Sippuray Sumsum and Takalani Sesame, two of Sesame Workshop's co-productions of Sesame Street, have been selected to receive the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award in the Children's Programs category. The CINE Golden Eagle awards, distinguishing excellence in professional and amateur works, are recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production standards in filmmaking and videography.

The Israeli and South African series, produced by the nonprofit educational organization, share a similar curriculum in encouraging respect and understanding. Israel's Sippuray Sumsum celebrates the diversity of the human experience and examines that diversity from within a child's own home and community, as well as in broader societal contexts, using Sesame Muppet, animation and live action segments. Takalani Sesame encourages children to develop a positive self-esteem and self-image, to respect and appreciate others, to celebrate South Africa's diverse culture, to develop basic skills with letters and numbers, and to encourage a life-long love of learning.

Co-produced with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Takalani Sesame is the first pre-school television production to tackle the issue of stigmatization associated with HIV/AIDS through Kami, a HIV-positive five-year-old girl Muppet who regularly appears on the series.

Last year, UNICEF appointed Kami a global 'Champion for Children'. In this role, Kami is helping to raise awareness and serving as an international advocate for children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

As CINE Golden Eagle winners, Sippuray Sumsum and Takalani Sesame are now nominees for CINE's competitive awards, the Special Jury Award, which recognizes the best films in the 26 CINE Golden Eagle categories. The competitive awards will be presented at the Annual CINE Awards Ceremony, to be held in Washington, DC in the spring of 2005.

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