Sesame, a pioneer in educational television and in generating content for children, announced the regional launch of the initiative ‘Ready to Play!’. This initiative seeks to improve the health of Latin American children through educational entertainment content.
‘Ready to Play!’ is the product of a public-private partnership between Sesame and six organizations in Latin America: Canal Once, Carlos Slim Foundation, FEMSA Foundation , the Ministry of Health , UNICEF and Ecuador TV .
This initiative seeks to promote physical activity, personal care, proper nutrition and emotional wellbeing in preschool children and adults in their environment.
“The children and young populations in Latin America is experiencing an alarming incidence of obesity; and this is expected to continue increasing in the next decade, if comprehensive actions are not taken. With this project we seek collaboration to generate healthy habits in children and to curb this trend,” Dr. Lucero Rodriguez Cabrera, Director of Strategy and Healthy Environments at the Ministry of Health, said. “This project is part of the National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Overweight, Obesity and Diabetes, so that it is extremely important for the institution,” she added.
‘Ready to Play!’ is a multiplatform initiative with emphasis on digital media that seeks achieving the following objectives:
- Encourage children aware of their body and its care.
- Revalue physical activity as something fun.
- Promote proper nutritional habits and the ability to make good decisions.
- Encourage personal care and oral health.
- Provide tools to stimulate emotional management, self-control and self-esteem.
Each of these objectives is achieved through practical and fun tools that help children and their families to develop healthy habits that accompany them throughout their whole life; by using the popularity, familiarity and acceptance of Sesame Street’s iconic characters, like Cookie Monster, Elmo, Abby Caddaby and Lola, among others.
‘Ready to Play!’ Is an initiative produced by the new Sesame , a renovation to the beloved Sesame Street , with the mission to help all children to grow with physical, mental and emotional strength. The new Sesame represents a multiplatform experience that meets the current needs of children, and the new media ecosystem in Latin America.
“Early childhood is a crucial window of opportunity in the lives of children to promote healthy lifestyles. In fact, habits and food preferences begin to form between two and four years old, so it is extremely important to develop a strategy focused on this group,” said Christian Skoog, representative of UNICEF Mexico.
The official presentation of the initiative took place in the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, and was hosted by Elmo, Lola and Cookie Monster, three of the most appreciated Sesame Street’s characters by the Mexican population.
“Contributing to child health knowledge and promoting good health practices will enable [children] to make decisions that positively impact their health and their families’. Through generations, Mexicans have developed a deep emotional connection with the values and characters of Sesame, which is the main differentiator and an important success factor in the strategy,” said Dr. Roberto Tapia Conyer, General Director of Carlos Slim Foundation.
Since this is a regional strategy, besides the transmission in Mexico, bringing the tools of the initiative to countries like Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil is being contemplated, as a first diffusion stage in the region.
“For us it is essential to seek the best intervention mechanisms through which we can cause interest and make the society owner of its auto-development,” said Mr. Mariano Montero, FEMSA Foundation Director. “We are convinced that focusing on changing habits in early childhood, we will achieve high-impact social investments, sustainable and replicable in the region.”
‘Ready to Play!’ includes 26 episodes, 12 television spots in the region (three of which were produced in Mexico), plus social networking content, a website, a mobile application and community activities.
“This initiative will benefit from the overall experience, but above all, from sharing fun educational entertainment content for kids and their parents,” Luis Eduardo Garzón, Canal Once Coordinator, said .
More info about the alliance can be consulted in www.sesamo.com/listosajugar
