As part of President Bush’s six-year, $157 million initiative to improve education in Indonesia, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a grant of $8.5 million to New York-based Sesame Workshop to develop and produce an Indonesia-specific version of the Sesame Street children’s television program, Jalan Sesama. Jalan Sesama helps to strengthen school readiness for millions of children throughout the archipelago; and contributes to the Government of Indonesia’s efforts to strengthen Early Childhood Education and Development. 

The initiative engages Indonesian educators and child development experts in creating relevant and age-appropriate content and will introduce children to simple concepts such as letters and numbers. The series will also address issues specific to the region such as encouraging young children to protect the environment, appreciating the diversity of their surroundings and instill positive character and creativity.

The first season, consisting of 52 thirty-minute episodes, went on air in February 2008 featuring Indonesian Muppet characters such as Momon, a five-year-old boy who learns to draw letters and loves drawing and counting; Putri an active and inquisitive young girl; Tantan a wise female orangutan that settles every dispute on Jalan Sesama; and Jabrik, a baby rhinoceros that is always complaining and laughing. The Season 2 and 3 of the series which introduced two new characters, including Agen 123 (a secret agent who likes to count numbers) and an animation character Gatot Kata (a superhero who introduces letters) were broadcast on Trans7 in 2009 until early March 2011 and have reached more than 7 million pre-school aged children.

The longitudinal study of Jalan Sesama that was conducted by John Hopkins University over 17 months found that children who watched Jalan Sesama more frequently had higher scores on a range of educational outcomes such as letter recognition, counting, arithmetic, general health knowledge, social development, environmental awareness, and cultural awareness than those who did not watch.

To date, Jalan Sesama has gained recognition of its quality programming nationally and internationally. The Science, Aesthetics and Technology Foundation (SET) in conjunction with the Indonesian Journalists Association (IJTI), Tifa Justice Foundation and other local media group selected Jalan Sesama as one of the top five quality programs nationally. The program was assessed on the basis of informative content, coverage of public issues, social empathy, critical viewpoint, impartiality, factuality and entertainment value. In April 2010, an episode from Jalan Sesama Season 3 won a gold award in the World Media Festival in Hamburg for best show in the Education - Pre-school Kindergarten category for its creative and technical excellence. Most recently, the show received a CINE gold award as an acknowledgment of excellence and validation by their peers.

Find the Workshop online at www.sesameworkshop.org.

Press Releases

New Characters, Celebrities Highlight Second Season of “Jalan Sesama”

30 January 2009 | jakarta

Jalan Sesama (Sesame Street) kicked off season two today when U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission John Heffern joined Muppet friends Putri, Momon, Tantan and Jabrik,...