Sesame Tree to Debut on BBC Two Northern Ireland

BELFAST/NEW
YORK, March 11: Next month, BBC Two Northern Ireland is set to debut Sesame
Tree, a new-media
project aimed at encouraging children to explore and appreciate the world
around them.

Launching on
April 5 and 6 at 7:15 a.m., Sesame Tree is produced by SixteenSouth, part of the Belfast-based
Inferno Group, in association with Sesame Workshop. Aligned to the revised
Northern Ireland Statutory Curriculum, the television series will present
engaging educational messages through stories and characters. The series
presents positive images to children and emphasizes a range of
objectives—diversity, problem-solving skills and awareness of a common
humanity—which help the early childhood demographic in Northern Ireland
to achieve goals of personal and mutual understanding in the local and wider
community.

In addition to
the television series, a Sesame Tree website is being developed by BBC Northern Ireland
Learning. The site will offer clips from the show, as well as interactive
discovery games for children promoting the development of thinking and
decision-making skills.

“Sesame
Workshop is proud to work with dedicated local partners like SixteenSouth, BBC
Northern Ireland, Queen’s University and the project’s funders to create
relevant, inspiring content that can bridge gaps and make a positive impact,”
said Gary
E. Knell, the president and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “The images we share
and the stories we tell have the potential to extend far beyond the television
screen to become a valuable resource for children growing up today in Northern
Ireland.”

Colin Williams,
the show’s executive producer, said: “It has been an honor to produce Sesame
Tree for our children
of Northern Ireland, by the people of Northern Ireland. Working with our
friends at Sesame Workshop, and amazingly talented local writers, performers
and production staff, the series is beautifully rich in local culture and
completely current with teaching based on the new Northern Ireland Curriculum.
The characters, stories and whole concept is very innovative and really
charming. We know the children of Northern Ireland will have as much fun
watching the series as we had making it.”

Peter Johnston,
the controller of BBC Northern Ireland, added, “This is a very exciting new
venture for BBC Northern Ireland. We are delighted to be part of what we know
will be a very entertaining and engaging series for children linking in to the
Northern Ireland Curriculum, enhanced by our new Sesame Tree website.”

Funding for Sesame
Tree is provided by the
International Fund for Ireland, which promotes integration and reconciliation
throughout Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties; The American
Ireland Fund, which serves as the project’s anchor sponsor; the Northern
Ireland Fund for Reconciliation, which provides support for projects that
promote reconciliation through community development and education; and
Northern Ireland Screen, which aims to accelerate the development of a dynamic
and sustainable screen industry in Northern Ireland.

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski