PRISTINA (AFP) — "Sesame Street" characters Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie are succeeding where politicians have so far failed -- by bringing together children from Kosovo's divided ethnic communities.
For four years now, a Sesame Street workshop has produced a local version of the acclaimed US children's television show, known as "Rruga Sesam" in the Albanian language and "Ulica Sezam" in Serbian.
A report on the impact of the project presenting everyday stories to children has shown the puppet characters are more successful than real-life ones in Kosovo, which proclaimed independence from Serbia in February.
Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs reject the split, and the two communities scarcely interact across the landlocked Balkan territory, with youths attending separate kindergartens, schools and universities.
Both Albanian and Serb children who watched the show "expressed greater willingness to help" youths from the opposite ethnicity than those who did not, according to the research by the Sesame workshop and its local partners.
The former were also 74 percent more likely to demonstrate positive attitudes towards counterparts from different ethnic backgrounds, the survey revealed.
Jon Mulliqi, an Albanian boy, likes "Sesame Street" so much that he says he even watches the Serbian version.
"I don't understand everything in Serbian, but I keep watching. Cookie Monster is my favorite. I even try to eat cookies like him," said the seven-year-old.
His mother, Shpresa Mulliqi, said she was relieved when "Sesame Street" began broadcasting in Kosovo.
"It's a programme that fits with children aged from three to six, who were neglected by local TV producers," said the 45-year-old doctor.
Her words were virtually echoed by health care administrator Mirjana Jokismovic from Radevo, a Serb-populated village south of the Kosovo capital Pristina.
"Everyone around children is focused on politics, which is terrible. No-one pays attention to children's needs and the 'Sesame Street' series is just what they need," Jokismovic said.
Her four-year-old daughter Ivana hoped to be chosen for a guest role in the show next season, following in the footsteps of her eight-year-old sister who appeared in a show presenting her secret for making strawberry jam.
"Maybe I will not make strawberry jam but something with pears," Ivana said.
The study also showed youths who watched the series were "more likely to see children of a distinct race/ethnicity as being similar to them, to express acceptance of a child that does not speak their language."
The poll was organised among 536 children aged from five to six. Half of them were watchers of either the Albanian or Serb versions of the show, while the other half were not.
"These results give us hope that we are helping to provide Kosovo's pre-schoolers with the necessary tools to lead positive and more productive lives in their communities and beyond," said Charlotte Cole of the Sesame Street workshop.
"Creating an effective, engaging and educational children's television series that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of children in a troubled region such as Kosovo takes creativity, humour, optimism and a strong understanding of local needs," added Cole.
Dobrila Jankovic, who runs a kindergarten in the Serb-populated enclave of Gracanica, near Pristina, said one of the toughest tasks for her colleagues was to "keep children untouched from political events."
"They watch television and in a way become participants of the process we are going through," said Jankovic.
But Sesame Street with its "language of play and love is the most important for children to overcome reluctance towards other (ethnic) groups," she stressed.
Launched on public television in the United States in 1969, "Sesame Street" has been widely recognised as a hugely successful experiment in educational children's programming, with its views on popular culture.
But in Kosovo, Elmo and his partners have also had an impact on adults, according to both Mulliqi and Joksimovic.
"It also affects adults, as three- or six-year-olds do not watch TV alone but with parents or relatives," Mulliqi said.
"They keep asking questions and give their comments, so we also become involved and affected by the show," she added.
Jokismovic agreed, saying: "It is better than listening to news headlines that go over and over again."
But there was also an impact on local customs or necessary water preservation.
Jon said he preferred "when a lake fish called a boy who spent hours brushing his teeth over a continuously leaking tap."
"The fish told him: 'Hey, if you go on like that I will remain without water'," said Jon, carefully recalling the episode.
And his mother immediately thought of the persistant water shortages in Pristina. "Seriously, I am ashamed of watering my flowers since that episode," he confided.
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