Panwapa Word of the day is......PING PONG!

What a great word to learn in five languages! Panwapa is Sesame Workshop's new multimedia project, teaching Global Citizenship to 4- to 8-year-olds. That is a complex curriculum, and it's sorely needed. I think this is a very good effort, and I know it will just keep getting better. See for yourself at www.panwapa.com.
This is my avatar and my Panwapa home - I live on a boat! And as you can see from my Panwapa Island flag, I like rice, dogs, books, riding my scooter, playing the piano, and making shadow puppets! Every child who registers as a citizen of Panwapa makes their own avatar who represents them in this world. Try it - it's fun, and I guarantee you, that little avatar is irresistible!

Come and Find Panwapa Island!

These are the irresistible avatars that kids are building to represent themselves on Panwapa Island! We tested these all over the world - the appeal is universal. This avatar was designed by Geoffrey Fowler, and he nailed it.

Click on the link below to hear the title song, which, as I've mentioned previously in this space, I think is a commercial, compelling sing-a-long, which is key because we embodied the Global Citizenship curriculum in the words. I will confess, though, that I almost didn't post this because of the terrible quality - they need to allocate more bandwidth to these streaming videos. We spent a lot of time and money creating these original muppet characters - it's a shame to have them look like this. Nonetheless, enjoy the song! SONG: Come and Find Panwapa Island

Word of the Day on Panwapa? ORIGAMI!

I have been spending more time this week on the Panwapa Island site, which is Sesame Workshop's new broadband site, designed to teach global citizenship. I've written about it previously in this space Check out Panwapa Island

It has been a very gratifying week as I've heard from a number of former Sesame colleagues who want to know what I think, or who are hoping I'm happy with the site. As one person put - "I am eager to know what you think about it because there's so much of you in it."

Raising children as global citizens who are aware of the broader world and who accept their responsibilities as citizens of that world is indeed a passion of mine. I feel so privileged to have been able to work on a project as rich and full of promise as this one. And, our team worked long and hard to create Panwapa across three types of media (video, broadband, and print) It was not easy, but they persisted, and the outcome reflects their effort and dedication.

And on the subject of what I think? I like it very much. My one regret is that we wrote very catchy, compelling songs for this project. They are irresistibly singable, in my view, and the lyrics embody the curriculum that we were trying to teach. Any virtual world is somewhat daunting when you first try to enter - whether you're a kid visiting Panwapa or an adult first encountering Second Life. And, since this is a rich media site and there is often loading time when children need to wait. I wish that the songs were present from the moment you click on the world, and there for you to sing while you are waiting for data to load. It's a missed opportunity, but there is plenty of time to fix it. This is a five-year project, and it will continue to expand, develop and roll out in additional territories. I have no doubt it will get better as it goes.

Teachers and caregivers - there are materials available if you are interested in using this media. Like the website itself, everything has been produced in five languages - Arabic, English, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. Click on the "For Caregivers" button on the Panwapa site to learn how to use this highly engaging content with your children.

Check out Panwapa Island

One of the most exciting projects that I worked on when I was with Sesame Street was a new project called "Panwapa" - a sprawling undertaking for 4- to 7-year-olds, introducing them to the idea of worldwide citizenship (not an easy concept for this age group). Because the target audience was older than Sesame Street's audience, we created a whole new cast of muppets, an older-skewing illustration style, and interactive broadband experience, all designed to appeal to older children. The original music is appealing and catchy, carrying the message of the curriculum right in the lyrics. And to pump up the degree of difficulty, the whole thing was created in five languages across all these media - Arabic, English, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish! it was extremely challenging, but our intrepid, multimedia Panwapa team persisted, and the outcome is quite wonderful.


I particularly like the "create your own avatar" feature. These little characters are absolutely irresistible....this is the little "me" that I made when I was on the project. Jump online and create one yourself!

Panwapa Island

Merrill Lynch funded the whole project and were hands on throughout the process - this is a topic they are passionate about. Merrill Lynch Global Philanthropy - Whoopi Goldberg and Elmo Help Unveil Panwapa Program in New York

And by the way, "Panwapa" means "here on this Earth" in Tshiluba, the national language of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A perfect name for the project!