ITV

Tag: Sashwati Banerjee

  • YouTube Kids available for free on Google Play, App Store in India

    YouTube Kids available for free on Google Play, App Store in India

    MUMBAI: Keeping in mind the rapid growth of kids content in India, video streaming platform YouTube has launched an app. Called YouTube Kids, it is aimed at parents as well as tech-savvy children. The app, has been launched in over 20 countries, makes it easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore.

    First debuted in the United States in February 2015 during which the ideology behind the kid-friendly YouTube app was described as, YouTube Kids app, the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind. The app makes it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore.

    YouTube global head of family and learning Malik Ducard stated that the team plans to bring new guest-curated playlists from educators, celebrities, trusted names and other parents in the coming weeks.

    Available for free on Google Play and App Store from today in India, the app features large images, no extra video controls, expect the play/pause, next video, and caption buttons and bold icons making it more convenient for the children. It is not yet available as a desktop version.

    YouTube Kids is fast and easy to navigate and also offers voice search to let children find videos even if they cannot spell or type. The app will include content from ChuChuTV, Kids TV, the Gummy Bear song in Hindi, and a new season of Appu – The Yogic Elephant. The app also includes parental control features like what can be searched by the child, timer to limit screen time and content restriction.

    The user interface features four distinct categories – shows, music, learning, and explore.

    ChuChuTV CEO Vinoth Chandar said, “Finally, our wish as a creator and as a parent has come true. As a kids creator we always wanted a separate kids app from YouTube because of the huge consumption by kids. As a parent, we always wanted a friendly digital space for our little ones to consume high-quality content. We are so excited about the launch of the YouTube Kids app and I am sure this is a blessing for all parents. As a creator, ChuChu TV has huge content plans for YouTube Kids. Good Luck to YouTube Kids.”

    Designed to offer family focused content, YouTube kids offers an option to parents to let their kids to explore their imagination and curiosity.

    Ducard further added, “YouTube Kids is our first step in reimagining YouTube for families, an experience that gives you a world of video in your pockets, and a world of possibility and knowledge at your fingertips. India already has a very diverse and rapidly-growing creator base for kids and learning, with content in this category growing 100% year over year. YouTube Kids comes to India at a great time for millions of Indian families, as it provides children access to content that will enrich their lives and create new opportunities for learning. It also provides the perfect platform to showcase India’s incredibly vibrant, growing community of content creators, from animation studios to edutubers.”

    “We are ecstatic about the launch of YouTube Kids in India. Carefully developed with healthy viewing in mind, YouTube Kids has to be, without a doubt, the most sought after edutainment destination. We are proud to be a valued partner of the YouTube Kids’ App,” added Appu Series CEO Sanjay Raheja.

    Toonz Media Group CEO Jayakumar P said, “Since its launch, YouTube Kids have redefined kids entertainment in a revolutionary way. Toonz’ relationship with the worldwide and Asia Pacific teams has been absolutely incredible. YouTube Kids’ launch in India is indeed exciting news and they will definitely enrich and entertain Indian kids in the most amazing ways. Looking forward to the YouTube Kids Indian avatar and great collaborations with them.”

    Sesame Workshop MD Sashwati Banerjee added, “At Sesame India we believe in the power of engaging parents in interacting with children. In addition to our kids-centric videos, we have recently launched a series of webisodes for parents hosted by the popular Bollywood actor, Twinkle Khanna on topics like self-confidence, bullying, resolving conflict, consent and many more which will be available on the YouTube Kids’ app. We believe YouTube Kids will be a great platform for parents and kids to build new practices for child care and learning.”

    Parental Control features of the YouTube Kids app:

    ● Search settings: Automated Prompt allows you to make a choice about how broadly you want your child to explore – turn search on to access millions of family-friendly videos, or turn search off to restrict your child’s experience to a more limited set. Either way, parents decide the right experience for their family from the get-go.

    ● Timer: Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to. (You’re welcome. 😉

    ● Sound settings: Sometimes you need a little peace and quiet! You have an option to turn off background music and sound effects, so your kids can keep watching while parents catch a breath.

    ● Passcode and restricting certain content: Parents have the ability to set their own passcode, and to access settings and other parental information in the app.

    ● YouTube Kids on the big screen: You can now also watch YouTube Kids as a family on your big screen using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smart TV.

  • YouTube Kids available for free on Google Play, App Store in India

    YouTube Kids available for free on Google Play, App Store in India

    MUMBAI: Keeping in mind the rapid growth of kids content in India, video streaming platform YouTube has launched an app. Called YouTube Kids, it is aimed at parents as well as tech-savvy children. The app, has been launched in over 20 countries, makes it easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore.

    First debuted in the United States in February 2015 during which the ideology behind the kid-friendly YouTube app was described as, YouTube Kids app, the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind. The app makes it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore.

    YouTube global head of family and learning Malik Ducard stated that the team plans to bring new guest-curated playlists from educators, celebrities, trusted names and other parents in the coming weeks.

    Available for free on Google Play and App Store from today in India, the app features large images, no extra video controls, expect the play/pause, next video, and caption buttons and bold icons making it more convenient for the children. It is not yet available as a desktop version.

    YouTube Kids is fast and easy to navigate and also offers voice search to let children find videos even if they cannot spell or type. The app will include content from ChuChuTV, Kids TV, the Gummy Bear song in Hindi, and a new season of Appu – The Yogic Elephant. The app also includes parental control features like what can be searched by the child, timer to limit screen time and content restriction.

    The user interface features four distinct categories – shows, music, learning, and explore.

    ChuChuTV CEO Vinoth Chandar said, “Finally, our wish as a creator and as a parent has come true. As a kids creator we always wanted a separate kids app from YouTube because of the huge consumption by kids. As a parent, we always wanted a friendly digital space for our little ones to consume high-quality content. We are so excited about the launch of the YouTube Kids app and I am sure this is a blessing for all parents. As a creator, ChuChu TV has huge content plans for YouTube Kids. Good Luck to YouTube Kids.”

    Designed to offer family focused content, YouTube kids offers an option to parents to let their kids to explore their imagination and curiosity.

    Ducard further added, “YouTube Kids is our first step in reimagining YouTube for families, an experience that gives you a world of video in your pockets, and a world of possibility and knowledge at your fingertips. India already has a very diverse and rapidly-growing creator base for kids and learning, with content in this category growing 100% year over year. YouTube Kids comes to India at a great time for millions of Indian families, as it provides children access to content that will enrich their lives and create new opportunities for learning. It also provides the perfect platform to showcase India’s incredibly vibrant, growing community of content creators, from animation studios to edutubers.”

    “We are ecstatic about the launch of YouTube Kids in India. Carefully developed with healthy viewing in mind, YouTube Kids has to be, without a doubt, the most sought after edutainment destination. We are proud to be a valued partner of the YouTube Kids’ App,” added Appu Series CEO Sanjay Raheja.

    Toonz Media Group CEO Jayakumar P said, “Since its launch, YouTube Kids have redefined kids entertainment in a revolutionary way. Toonz’ relationship with the worldwide and Asia Pacific teams has been absolutely incredible. YouTube Kids’ launch in India is indeed exciting news and they will definitely enrich and entertain Indian kids in the most amazing ways. Looking forward to the YouTube Kids Indian avatar and great collaborations with them.”

    Sesame Workshop MD Sashwati Banerjee added, “At Sesame India we believe in the power of engaging parents in interacting with children. In addition to our kids-centric videos, we have recently launched a series of webisodes for parents hosted by the popular Bollywood actor, Twinkle Khanna on topics like self-confidence, bullying, resolving conflict, consent and many more which will be available on the YouTube Kids’ app. We believe YouTube Kids will be a great platform for parents and kids to build new practices for child care and learning.”

    Parental Control features of the YouTube Kids app:

    ● Search settings: Automated Prompt allows you to make a choice about how broadly you want your child to explore – turn search on to access millions of family-friendly videos, or turn search off to restrict your child’s experience to a more limited set. Either way, parents decide the right experience for their family from the get-go.

    ● Timer: Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to. (You’re welcome. 😉

    ● Sound settings: Sometimes you need a little peace and quiet! You have an option to turn off background music and sound effects, so your kids can keep watching while parents catch a breath.

    ● Passcode and restricting certain content: Parents have the ability to set their own passcode, and to access settings and other parental information in the app.

    ● YouTube Kids on the big screen: You can now also watch YouTube Kids as a family on your big screen using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smart TV.

  • Galli Galli Sim Sim commences seventh season on Doordarshan

    Galli Galli Sim Sim commences seventh season on Doordarshan

    NEW DELHI: Sesame Street’s Galli Galli Sim Sim, the popular preschool programme has commenced its seventh season on Doordarshan. The programme was premiered on 14 February at 10 a.m. with a repeat telecast every Wednesday at 8 30 am.

     

    Produced in association with RedDot Productions, the all-new Season seven of Galli Galli Sim Sim engages children as it educates them on important life skills that enable them to be more school ready. With generous support from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, each episode of Galli Galli Sim Sim has multiple segments that are thematically linked together to address a whole-child curriculum.

     

    Galli ki Duniya hosts favourite Muppet friends Chamki, Googly, Boombah, Aanchoo, Khadoosa and Hero, and an all new human star cast – Aamir, Pia Aunty, Doctor Didi with engaging stories that teach children about sharing, making friends, healthy habits and task persistence. Grover takes to the streets in search of new word and to the sky in Super Grover 2.0 to teach children concepts around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). The Bert and Ernie animation segments teach pre-numeracy and maths concepts. The Elmo and Parents segment models strategies and behaviours to address topics like bullying, self-esteem and confidence, using vocabulary to express oneself, reflecting on the feelings of others and learning strategies for responding to academic or social and emotional challenges.

     

    Season six of Galli Galli Sim Sim, which concluded broadcast in February 2015 was watched extensively with each episode reaching 1, 10,000 children on an average.

     

    Speaking about the new season, Sesame Workshop India MD Sashwati Banerjee  said, “We are preparing children for the 21st century. Along with the necessary literacy and numeracy skills, children need to learn about self-regulation such as focused attention, controlling their emotions and their impulses.  Recent studies have shown that self-regulation and executive functioning skills are critical indicators for school readiness. The process that enables them to learn about  planning, initiate and complete an activity while controlling their temper, maintaining attention and responding to feedback from others need to be taught at a very young age. The new season of GGSS specifically deals with issues that promote self-regulation and provides both the vocabulary and the strategies. We encourage parents to watch it with the children.”

     

    Children’s Investment Fund Foundation executive director Peter Colenso, said “Children’s early experiences have a uniquely powerful influence on the formation of their cognitive capacities, social skills and even later I.Q. We are very excited to support Sesame Workshop in India to develop content that will engage young children in learning experiences and help them develop.”

     

    As always, Galli Galli Sim Sim is filled with hysterical moments for both children and their caregivers and will be broadcast also in Gujarati (DD Girnar) and Marathi (DD Sahayadri) later this year.

  • ‘Culturally, linguistically diverse India is a test case for us’ : Sesame Workshop India ED Sashwati Banerjee

    ‘Culturally, linguistically diverse India is a test case for us’ : Sesame Workshop India ED Sashwati Banerjee

     For both Sesame Workshop and its newly-appointed executive director for Indian operations, Sashwati Banerjee, India is a big challenge. The US-based Sesame Workshop might have revolutionized pre-school education through various initiatives, including the path-breaking TV show Sesame Street, but replicating a global model here will be a tough task.

    Rather, if communications expert Banerjee is to be believed, Sesame Workshop is adopting an entirely new game plan for India, apart from innovating on some aspects that incorporate what it has done in other parts of the globe. She agrees that India may become the incubator for a model that could be replicated elsewhere too.

    Founded in 1968, Sesame Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programmes and products are engaging and enriching.

    For Banerjee, who’s dabbled in various assignments from India to Hong Kong to the US, the changeover to children’s education from healthcare communications is a step that was not taken easily. But after initial doubts were cleared by Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell, it has been hectic work for the lady who grew up and studied in Delhi, but spent quite a few years in Hong Kong doing “this and that”, as she would modestly say.

    In this conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Anjan Mitra, Banerjee spells out her priorities and gives a glimpse into Workshop’s plans for India. She also cribs a bit on procedural delays and lack of readily available comprehensive data/research on government-aided education initiatives and child behaviour.

    Excerpts:

    What’s the aim of setting up Sesame Workshop India?
    Sesame Workshop India would primarily be the outreach arm to promote early childhood initiative and the educational curriculum of Galli Galli Sim Sim (the Indian version of Sesame Street) through a multi media platform, especially to children who are most in need or underserved. The educational curriculum of Galli Galli… has been designed by Indian educators, researchers and writers keeping in mind India’s cultural and social diversity and needs.

    How will that be done?
    What Sesame Workshop really brings to the table is technical knowledge and expertise in early childhood education and development. These are the two broad areas we are working with. How will it go about doing it? One arm of the education initiative is the television show Galli Galli… which is going to be broadcast on Cartoon Network, Pogo and (terrestrial broadcaster) Doordarshan. The other aspect of the initiative is to see how we can extend and reinforce that learning through a variety of other activities with the help of technology to bridge the digital divide.

    The target audience is children aged between two to six years and their caregivers, which include parents and teachers using educational materials that are fun and make learning engaging “because all children deserve a chance to dream and discover, to understand the world and their place in it, to reach their highest potential…”

    We would be working with other organizations that are already active in this field and our mandate is to help them develop programmes that will take such initiatives forward.
    ‘Seed Funding has been provided by Turner India‘

    How would Sesame Workshop leverage Galli Galli…?
    Television is just one of the ways in which the educational curriculum will be delivered is television. Sesame Workshop India will help to deliver Galli Galli… across other mediums – from print, training, interpersonal communication to high technology initiatives like the internet. While the television series is expected to reach audiences across India, there is still a large population who have limited or no access to television. It is through Sesame Workshop India’s outreach efforts that this population will be reached.

    Moreover, research has shown that children who watch Sesame Street or its various local versions in countries round the globe are better prepared for school in terms of cognitive learning and the show has helped prevent children from dropping out of school.

    When is Galli Galli Sim Sim likely to make its debut on Cartoon Network and Pogo?
    Galli Galli Sim Sim will premiere on Cartoon Network in mid-August after which it will be aired on Pogo. But for those broadcasting details, Turner is best placed to provide more information.

    How is Sesame Workshop funding its initiatives in India?
    Seed Funding has been provided by Turner India (a Time Warner company). Sesame Workshop India, like any other not-for-profit organization, will raise funds to support its activities in India.

    When Indiantelevision.com spoke to Sesame CEO Gary Knell, he had said corporate houses too would be roped in for funding activities. Has any development taken place in this regard?
    Those things would take place after we set up shop formally and get our basic act in place. Presently, we are in the process of getting our clearances from various government agencies.

    However, we’d like to tap big corporate houses for funds as part of a corporate’s social responsibilities. There are quite a few business houses that are involved in educational initiatives and we’ll look at partnering with them in various ways.

    What role would the Indian government play in Sesame’s scheme of things? What are those few things that Sesame must consider as it goes forward?
    In order to understand the critical priorities of the Indian government – where Sesame Workshop can collaborate, and highlight areas of concern – Sesame Workshop had organized a workshop that brought together a cross-section of relevant stakeholders in New Delhi in early December 2005.

    Briefly, the discussions were participative and each government department and agency, professional educational bodies, and the voluntary sector brought their own set of issues to the fore providing for comprehensive inputs towards future planning and strategy. In fact, there was a consensus around the fact that the media can help overcome constraints posed by the existing administrative structures across the country, which are highly segmented.

    We are hoping to work with diverse partners, develop and create innovative materials and build capacity at all levels. Our vision is to reach as many children as possible in India by partnering with government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan or Universal Education programme with material that will make learning joyful and help the government in reaching its educational objectives.

    Considering Turner International India had provided the money for a corpus, what would be its role?
    Turner is the TV series’ co-producer and distributor of Galli Galli Sim Sim. Together, Sesame Workshop and Turner are committed to making Galli Galli Sim Sim a break-through educational programme and brand. Sesame and Turner are working closely to ensure that India’s children will have access to this new show and its educational messages, and are actively pursuing promoting the show on multiple platforms across India.

    Is the telecast deal with Turner exclusive or can it be done with other broadcasters in other Indian languages too?
    As far as the agreement with Turner is concerned, all I can say is that it’s for at least five years or five seasons of Galli, Galli… I cannot hand out any financial details or presently comment on the fact whether we can work with other broadcasters or not.

    Generally, Sesame Workshop works with the public service broadcaster of the country concerned, but there had been some initial problems with Doordarshan, which, I am told, have been sorted out now by Turner India.

    India is a vast country and getting educational initiatives in all the local languages would not be possible. But we would certainly be exploring at least one South Indian language, if not two, apart from Hindi. The details haven’t yet been worked out and would be done in consultation with Turner.

    Will the Indian ops undertake merchandising activities too?
    We are focusing on the launch of the show and have nothing to announce at the moment.

    How are such merchandising activities done elsewhere in the world?
    Sesame Workshop operates in 120 different countries. The modus operandi varies from country to country and partner to partner.

    How is the revenue generated from such activities used and what will be the game plan for India?
    Like I said, Sesame Workshop is a not-for-profit organization. Any revenue generated through merchandising or licensing go towards providing quality early childhood education and development around the world – to those who are most in need.

    How important is India as a market for Sesame?
    Of the 103 million children aged 2-6 years, over 35 per cent in rural areas and 48 per cent in urban areas can’t access Early Childhood Care and Education. Roughly 100 million live in urban slums alone, which have no access to Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) that is the primary vehicle for Early Childhood Care and Education in India.

    While Early Childhood Care and Education is definitely a felt need and lot of efforts have been put in by the government and private institutions, other issues like malnutrition and child heath take precedence for ICDS. Demand has never been an issue in education. Supply is what we need to focus on.

    Does Sesame Workshop feel that the Indian regulatory environment requires too many procedural clearances impeding quick start of operations?
    Actually, the Indian regulatory environment has been extremely supportive for us. We have had representation from the government and other public education bodies right from conceptualization to production of Galli Galli Sim Sim, which is being produced for Turner by Miditech. We work closely with Indian educators to arrive at the educational curriculum that looks at ‘whole child’ approach and is very much in line with the education policy of this country.

    However, India is a test case for Sesame Workshop as it is uniquely ahead of most developing countries in terms of market and economy and the size of population. More importantly, India is not a donor funded country as sizeable infrastructure is being built by Indians. Then in India, we are not working primarily with the terrestrial broadcaster, unlike in other countries. We do hope that the time block on DD will continue airing Galli Galli… for a long time to come.

    I don’t see Galli Galli… broadcasting in 22 Indian languages. What we can do is to take the essence of educational initiatives and roll it out in outreach that can happen in multiple languages.

    In those terms, India is a learning experience for Sesame to see what kind of partnerships work best and how sustainable models can be built up for impact in a country that is culturally and linguistically diverse.
  • Sesame Workshop to set up NGO in India

    Sesame Workshop to set up NGO in India

    NEW DELHI: In order to develop strategies and partnerships that ensure Galli Galli Sim Sim – an alliance between Turner India and Sesame Workshop – delivers, Sesame Workshop will be forming a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New Delhi.

    In addition, the Workshop has named Sashwati Banerjee to become Executive director of the NGO once it is established, while Shari Rosenfeld, vice-president, developing and emerging markets, Sesame Workshop, will oversee it.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim’s mission is to educate and engage pre-school children throughout India and is a joint effort of Workshop and Time Warner company Turner India, which has contributed corporate social responsibility funds toward the establishment of the NGO.

    The India office will drive Galli Galli Sim Sim’s outreach projects and manage its network of collaborative partnerships with other NGOs, funding partners, consumers, government agencies, educational institutions, broadcasters, and production team members.

    “Sashwati, with over 15 years of experience in creative and management positions is deeply committed to children’s and women’s rights issues,” said Rosenfeld in a statement today.

    “We are thrilled that she will be joining our team to lend her expertise in raising the profile of Galli Galli Sim Sim, an initiative aimed at promoting joyful learning of basic life skills for India’s young children and celebrating the diversity that is a part of their every day lives,” she added.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim is a broad-based, multi-platform educational Initiative for young Indian children. A television show of the same name will debut later this year (the date being bandied around is 15 August) on India’s leading kids’ channels, Cartoon Network and Pogo.

    The outreach campaign will extend the educational impact of the show by reaching out particularly to underprivileged children and the adults who care for them, through materials and programs in various media.

    Congratulating Banerjee on her appointment, Soumitra Saha, senior VP, regional advertising sales and marketing, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia and project director, Sesame India, said, “With her Experience and well-honed skill set in the niche segment of social sector, Sashwati Banerjee is well-positioned to spearhead and successfully extend the long term educational objectives of Galli Galli Sim Sim to reach millions of young kids through the specially designed outreach campaign.”

    Most recently, Banerjee was the programme director and communications Advisor with Abt Associates, for the private sector partnership One Project, funded globally by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Prior to this position, Banerjee worked with the leading communications agency Ogilvy & Mather, where she was instrumental in setting up their healthcare division. In her capacity as the Business Manager, she designed and led successful campaigns for her clients in the pharmaceutical 
    industry.

    Sesame Workshop is a US-based nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in the lives of children around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street.

    Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and groundbreaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia.