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Takalani Sesame, the much-loved South African children’s edutainment television program, and its creator the Sesame Workshop have received an award for “Best Children’s Program: SASL and Inclusivity”. The award is in acknowledgement of its efforts towards diversity and inclusivity and making the television program more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing children and families.

The award was bestowed by Wits University’s Centre for Deaf Studies (CFDS), a Centre of Excellence at the university, that provides training for teachers of deaf learners and conduct research into bilingual education for deaf and hard of hearing learners. They also provide much needed and highly specialised early intervention and support for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Further, theCFDS is the only institution of its kind in Africa. This occasion also marks the Centre’s 25th anniversary in September, which coincides with International Deaf Awareness Month, also commemorated inSeptember each year – and the  awards ceremony is part of the celebrations hosted to honour these special milestones for the deaf community.

Mari Payne, Director of Education and Outreach at Sesame Workshop South Africa, and Elmo – everyone's favorite, red Muppet friend, accepted Takalani Sesame’s award on 29  September 2023.

“It has always been a goal to create a children’s television show that is accessible to every child in South Africa. That thinking drove us to include SASL in some episodes, along with five  other official languages: isiZulu, English, Sesotho, isiNdebele, and Afrikaans. This award is an endorsement an of our work and a sign that we are on track to achieving that goal” Payne says.

She adds that several Takalani Sesame episodes have included appearances from children who are deaf or hard of hearing, children in wheelchairs and a child with albinism.

“This is so important to us, because we know that children relate to other children when they can “see themselves” on screen – irrespective of their abilities, how they look, or how they speak or sign.Casting these children in the television show helps us develop an inclusive mindset amongst child and adult viewers.”

Payne reports that the decision was recently made to add SASL to previously aired seasons of Takalani Sesame. These improved and more inclusive seasons will be ready for re-broadcast in early 2024.

“The recent proclamation by President Ramaphosa that SASL is now the 12th official language of South Africa encouraged us to think about how we can refine our offering to make it even more relevant fordeaf children and families. We are excited to be working with the Centre for Deaf Studies (CFDS) to help us improve on how we do SASL interpretation to make it even more accessible and suitable for our young audience”, Payne explains.

The award from Wits University and the CFDS is one of several accolades that Takalani Sesame has received, recognising its highly effective approach to blending education and entertainment for youngchildren. This has had a marked impact on early childhood development and potential school readiness of young children – and research is telling us that the improvement in these areas is even moresignificant when the content is delivered in the child’s mother tongue.

This is one of the reasons why Payne is excited by this award, as “it confirms Sesame Workshop’s commitment to create educational content that emphasises our shared value of Ubuntu and teaches children how to get along with people from different backgrounds, religions, races, genders, languages, and other cultural differences. These life skills are crucial and are among the qualities that come across strongly in the Season 14 of the program that currently airs on SABC with a focus on dealing with Big Feelings.”

The CFDS’s Prof Claudine Storbeck commends Takalani Sesame for its work in ensuring that deaf and hard of hearing children and their families can share in the magic that has been synonymous with Takalani Sesame for more than 23 years.

“It is our honour to recognize Takalani Sesame with this award. We are celebrating their efforts to make their content accessible to the deaf community – often a neglected and forgotten audience”.

“As the United Nations explains, it’s all about supporting and protecting the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and other sign language users and promoting and recognising national sign languages as part of their countries’ vibrant and diverse linguistic landscapes,” Prof Storbeck concludes.

Issued by JNPR on behalf of Takalani Sesame