Speaker 1: We decided the first local muppet, the first African muppet,
Speaker 1: needed to be a girl, and it needed to be
Speaker 1: a strong girl role model to show young girls that
Speaker 1: they can dream big, give them a sense of possibilities
Speaker 1: they may not have dreamed off. And that led to
Speaker 1: the creation of Sari. And she wears her for his job.
Speaker 1: She wears her school uniform, proudly, loves to go to school,
Speaker 1: loves to learn. And what I'm so thrilled up to
Speaker 1: say is that Zary is the favorite character of boys
Speaker 1: and girls in Afghanistan. That is Sherry Weston, who has
Speaker 1: spent decades empowering children and creating progress around the world
Speaker 1: through Sesame Workshop, where she is aided by those famous
Speaker 1: puppet characters known as the Muppets. I'm Milan Ververe and
Speaker 1: this is Seneca's one Women to Hear. We are bringing
Speaker 1: you one hundred of the world's most inspiring and history
Speaker 1: making women you need to hear. Sherry Weston was recently
Speaker 1: named president of Sesame Workshop, but she's been in leadership
Speaker 1: roles with Sesame since, always on the cutting edge using
Speaker 1: educational media to help vulnerable children both in the United
Speaker 1: States and overseas. Sherry came to Sesame Workshop after a
Speaker 1: distinguished career in media and in public life, including as
Speaker 1: Assistant to the President for Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs
Speaker 1: in the George H. W. Bush administration, and after senior
Speaker 1: positions at ABCTV and US News and World Report. I've
Speaker 1: known Sherry for many years, and I've seen how her
Speaker 1: work at Sesame Workshop brings hope and joy to children
Speaker 1: in even the toughest situations. Listen and learn why Sherry
Speaker 1: Weston is one of Seneca's one Women to hear well.
Speaker 1: I'm just thrilled to be here today in conversation with
Speaker 1: Sherry Weston, and I know that our audience will understand
Speaker 1: why I'm so excited, because what you do, Sherry, is
Speaker 1: truly wonderful and we can all relate to it. Over
Speaker 1: your career, you've held many leadership positions in the media
Speaker 1: and government, but since you've been at Sesame Street and
Speaker 1: you are currently the president for Social Impact and Philanthropy.
Speaker 1: But in just a few weeks you will become the
Speaker 1: President of Sesame Workshops. So congratulations, thank you, thank you
Speaker 1: so much. I'm really excited. So for purposes of Sesame,
Speaker 1: I think many of us are familiar with a Birt
Speaker 1: and Ernie and Grover and the whole gang. Uh and
Speaker 1: some new ones you're gonna tell us about. But what
Speaker 1: exactly is Sesame Workshop? What do you do? How do
Speaker 1: you see your mission? Um? What's its scope? Well? Thank
Speaker 1: you so much, land At such a treat to be here.
Speaker 1: But yes, you know, I think with Sesame Workshop, I
Speaker 1: think everyone knows and loves Sesame Street, but they think
Speaker 1: of it as the iconic UM television show and often
Speaker 1: don't know the depth and breadth of our work. And
Speaker 1: the Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit organization that produces Sesame
Speaker 1: Street around the world. It was originally called Children's Television
Speaker 1: Workshop when it was created in nineteen sixty nine. And
Speaker 1: we our mission is to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger,
Speaker 1: and kinder. And what we do is we use media
Speaker 1: to help children reach their potential. So, um, if you
Speaker 1: think about our origins and been just fifty years, over
Speaker 1: fifty years or two one years ago, when Sesame Street
Speaker 1: was created, it really was an experiment. This was the
Speaker 1: it was the War on Poverty, the Johnson administration and
Speaker 1: with grants from the Department of Education, Carnegie Corporation, and
Speaker 1: the Ford Foundation Children's Television Workshop was created to see
Speaker 1: if television could be used to teach, and more importantly,
Speaker 1: could it reach less advantaged children who didn't have the
Speaker 1: same access to quality preschool and give them the opportunity
Speaker 1: to arrive at school ready to learn. So soon after
Speaker 1: we you know, thought we were the quintessential American show,
Speaker 1: but then Germany and Brazil and Mexico all wanted their
Speaker 1: own productions, and that's what's led to Sesame workshops global
Speaker 1: impact around the world, where we're now seen in a
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty countries, and in many of those countries
Speaker 1: we create completely local adaptations of Sesame streets, so the
Speaker 1: characters will be unique, um children will be able to
Speaker 1: see themselves on screen. It reflects their culture, their language,
Speaker 1: and any specific needs of children in that country. So
Speaker 1: I will also say that I do feel like the
Speaker 1: need for Sesame has never been greater. When you think
Speaker 1: of a billion and a half children out of school
Speaker 1: around the world because of a global pandemic. It really
Speaker 1: brings home the power of educational media. Just as we
Speaker 1: you know, we're founded to reach children when they don't
Speaker 1: have formal learning access. It's such an important mission that
Speaker 1: you have, and you know all children benefit from sesame
Speaker 1: and it really makes a difference for the children at risk.
Speaker 1: I know that one of the critical programs you have
Speaker 1: is geared in many ways to girls in Afghanistan, not
Speaker 1: that boys don't benefit from it too, and I know
Speaker 1: you'll tell us about that. And it features one of
Speaker 1: my favorite muppets who to whom I was introduced by
Speaker 1: you several years ago, a girl muppet named Zari. So
Speaker 1: tell us why Zari is so special and what impact
Speaker 1: she's having and what difference uh it is making an Afghanistan. Well,
Speaker 1: I'm so glad you asked this, molm because I do
Speaker 1: think this is one of the great examples to show
Speaker 1: sort of the power of media and muppets, if you will.
Speaker 1: In Afghanistan, we have a local production called Bace Simpson
Speaker 1: which means Sessam Garden and Dari and Pashto, and one
Speaker 1: of the key curricular goals is girls education and gender equity.
Speaker 1: So in creating the content, in creating Race Simpson, we
Speaker 1: decided the first local muppet, the first Afghan muppet, needed
Speaker 1: to be a girl, and it needed to be a
Speaker 1: strong girl role model to show young girls that they
Speaker 1: can dream big um give them a sense of possibilities
Speaker 1: they may not have dreamed of. And that led to
Speaker 1: the creation of Zari. And she wears her for his job.
Speaker 1: She wears her school uniform, proudly loves to go to school,
Speaker 1: loves to learn. And as the seasons progressed, we created
Speaker 1: a little brother Prazari named Zraq who it also allows
Speaker 1: us to model stories of Zeroq looking up to his
Speaker 1: big sister. And with everything we do, you know it
Speaker 1: is embedded that all of the curricular goals, not only modeling,
Speaker 1: but UM also showing little boys that it's okay for
Speaker 1: girls to go to school and for girls and women
Speaker 1: to have different roles and responsibilities. And what I'm so
Speaker 1: thrilled to say is that you know there are five
Speaker 1: million children in Afghanistan under the age of five. Through
Speaker 1: radio television, lach Simpson reaches almost four million those children.
Speaker 1: Zary is the favorite character of boys and girls in Afghanistan.
Speaker 1: And with everything we do, we study our impact. We
Speaker 1: do research to prove outcomes so we can raise the
Speaker 1: philanthropic support to continue the work. And not only do
Speaker 1: we have UM proven outcomes into literacy and numeracy, but
Speaker 1: when we measure attitudes of gender equity. Little boys watch
Speaker 1: Budgi Simpson test higher almost thirty percent higher on attitudes
Speaker 1: of gender equity, saying they think it's fine for their
Speaker 1: sisters to go to school, or um that they think
Speaker 1: it's fine for girls and women to have different roles.
Speaker 1: And I think that I'm probably who told you this before.
Speaker 1: But the data point that I get the most excited
Speaker 1: about was from focus groups, qualitative research that the US
Speaker 1: State Department did, because the U. S State Department has
Speaker 1: funded this production. And in those focus groups, they found
Speaker 1: again and again fathers cited bog Simpson as the reason
Speaker 1: they had changed their minds about permitting their daughter to
Speaker 1: go to school. And if you think about it, it's
Speaker 1: I think it's because it's non threatening. It's a children's show.
Speaker 1: And yet we know in a country like Afghanistan, almost
Speaker 1: watch with a parent or caregiver. So it really drives
Speaker 1: home the potential to plant those seeds for societal change.
Speaker 1: I love it. I still do so much work in Afghanistan,
Speaker 1: and you know, there's a great fear uh that the
Speaker 1: rights that women have achieved over these couple decades may
Speaker 1: be pushed back. And I think of Zari and the
Speaker 1: fact that she's not just educating her peer set, but
Speaker 1: she is indeed educating the wider society. So it's just
Speaker 1: so terrific because we don't often think of muppets as
Speaker 1: the great vehicles for societal change. For sure, I know
Speaker 1: that Sesame and the International Rescue Committee came together to
Speaker 1: address the special needs that children have in refugees settings.
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit about the work
Speaker 1: you're doing in that very tough arena. Absolutely, this is
Speaker 1: another one of my favorite initiatives, and it is so
Speaker 1: rewarding in so many ways. But we did about you know,
Speaker 1: if you think back to the height of the Syrian
Speaker 1: um or the outset of the Syrian conflict. In Syrian crisis,
Speaker 1: it dawned on us that, you know, more people were
Speaker 1: displaced than any other time since World War Two, which
Speaker 1: is still the case, but almost half our children. And
Speaker 1: so it says to me, we in our global work,
Speaker 1: we're always looking at what are the most pressing issues
Speaker 1: children face and are their places where we can make
Speaker 1: a difference. So we had done a lot of work
Speaker 1: in the Middle East, in Egypt and Jordan's in Israel, Palestine,
Speaker 1: we had done local Arabic productions, and we felt like,
Speaker 1: in order to address the huge number of displaced Syrian
Speaker 1: children UM in throughout that region, that we really couldn't
Speaker 1: do it alone. And so I did go to David Miliban,
Speaker 1: who heads the I r C, and we UM suggested
Speaker 1: that we work together, that we form a partnership, and
Speaker 1: we would take our Arabic content, you know, and adapt it,
Speaker 1: and then we would empower his irc um tremendous staff
Speaker 1: and on the ground to have content to use home visits,
Speaker 1: to use for learning centers, UM all local Arabic content.
Speaker 1: And soon after we started this pilot in Jordan's Um,
Speaker 1: we learned of the MacArthur Foundations first ever hundred and
Speaker 1: Change Award, which was giving a hundred million dollar grant
Speaker 1: to an organization addressing a pressing need of our time.
Speaker 1: And UM once again went back to the I r
Speaker 1: C and said, will you join us on this because
Speaker 1: we we think this is one of the most pressing needs.
Speaker 1: And lo and behold, we were selected for that first
Speaker 1: ever grant and it is so important and so powerful
Speaker 1: for so many reasons. But this is allowing us to
Speaker 1: create the largest early childhood intervention in the history of
Speaker 1: humanitarian response, and it really, um, it really struck me
Speaker 1: as we looked into this that less than three percent
Speaker 1: of all humanitarian aid goes to education, and yet there
Speaker 1: is so much research today that shows that if we
Speaker 1: reach children in their critical early years, we can have
Speaker 1: the greatest impact. So I think the other thing that
Speaker 1: I'm so excited about is it really shines a spotlight
Speaker 1: on the need and on the potential when we're reaching
Speaker 1: children in crisis settings. And within a year, the Lego
Speaker 1: Foundation stepped up and gave another grant of a hundred
Speaker 1: billion dollars and that has allowed us to deepen our
Speaker 1: impact in the Middle East with learning through Play and
Speaker 1: to expand this program to the Rhinga crisis to reach
Speaker 1: children in Bangladesh. And oh my goodness. Yeah, it's very
Speaker 1: it's really it's really um audacious and and it's really groundbreaking.
Speaker 1: And again, our hope is that this will be a
Speaker 1: catalyst for others, whether it's Sesame or not, just to
Speaker 1: be investing in reaching children in their early years, because
Speaker 1: it's it's those who are affected the most really received
Speaker 1: the least, so often we don't keep children in mind
Speaker 1: in conflict settings. It's really wonderful and and these children
Speaker 1: see themselves in the Muppets. Do you have an array
Speaker 1: of Muppets that are now in these different settings are
Speaker 1: how does this work? Yes? Well, we you know in
Speaker 1: UM in the Middle East where we're in Iran and Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan,
Speaker 1: and Syria with this program a han senson and that
Speaker 1: means welcome sesame in Arabic. It's also seen throughout the
Speaker 1: Middle East because of we're on both terrestrial and and
Speaker 1: satellite UM, which is so important because it's not just
Speaker 1: for Syrian refugees or displaced children, but their new neighbors
Speaker 1: side by side in Jordanian children, leban these children and
Speaker 1: in this as you point out, it's so important for
Speaker 1: children to be able to identify with these characters and
Speaker 1: to have storylines that they can relate to. So Inhln Simpson,
Speaker 1: there are two new muppets. One is named Jodd. He's
Speaker 1: five and a half years old and he had to
Speaker 1: leave his home and he becomes best friends with an
Speaker 1: adorable little purple muppet in Bosma. And so right there
Speaker 1: you can start to see that storyline of children, someone
Speaker 1: who had to leave who becomes best friends with someone else.
Speaker 1: From a different place. And again the curriculum is is
Speaker 1: you know, instilled in everything we do, but we're also
Speaker 1: able to model those social emotional um issues and and
Speaker 1: giving children sort of the we like to say it's
Speaker 1: the emotional A, b c S. The building blocks they need,
Speaker 1: particularly for vulnerable children who have experienced trauma senecas one
Speaker 1: hundred women to hear will be back after the short break.
Speaker 1: This is just so compelling. You know, we talked about
Speaker 1: Sorry a little bit in the tremendous impact she's having
Speaker 1: in Afghanistan, and we know that girls are still not
Speaker 1: valued and many places in the world they still have
Speaker 1: a very rough time going to school, leaving school, etcetera.
Speaker 1: Do you see many of your muppets empowering girls specifically?
Speaker 1: You know, absolutely. I mean, I think perhaps because it's
Speaker 1: such a specific intention on our part to make sure
Speaker 1: in every country we're in that we have powerful girl
Speaker 1: role models. But I watch, you know, one of the
Speaker 1: things that's so amazing is how universal the appeal of
Speaker 1: muppets is, whether it's in a refugee camp or in
Speaker 1: South Africa or in Bangladesh, to see children just light
Speaker 1: up um and these characters are so engaging. I think
Speaker 1: that's what gives them the ability to teach and also
Speaker 1: to model behavior change around sanitation, water UM. You know,
Speaker 1: we do a lot of wash work to model attitude change,
Speaker 1: like girls education, UM, conflict resolution, And I think one
Speaker 1: of the things that I find the most rewarding is
Speaker 1: media allows you to reach girls and boys, and in
Speaker 1: so many places where girls aren't UM in school, this
Speaker 1: is sort of a universal opportunity to reach them side
Speaker 1: by side, but also to model for them possibilities. Just
Speaker 1: really really a terrific investment that has just enormous payoffs
Speaker 1: for these children everywhere. COVID has affected all of us, uh,
Speaker 1: and I wonder how it's affected Sesame workshop, what Milan. Honestly,
Speaker 1: you know, it's been so hard on everyone obviously, but
Speaker 1: but as I mentioned earlier, it just reinforces how important
Speaker 1: what we do is. And I feel so grateful to
Speaker 1: get up every day through all of these um challenging
Speaker 1: times knowing that what we're doing is intended to help
Speaker 1: and to make a difference. And we did have to
Speaker 1: pivot UM we we began production. We couldn't go in
Speaker 1: studios either. You couldn't have the Muppets on Sesame Street
Speaker 1: in a production studio here or in a mon Jordan's
Speaker 1: and so we had to just start producing virtually. If
Speaker 1: you look at some of our specials during UM the
Speaker 1: outset of the pandemic, we did a lot of family
Speaker 1: specials to model learning opportunities at home for parents, and
Speaker 1: it looks like a zoom call. You'll see Anne Hathaway
Speaker 1: in a corner and Lynn Manuel and Elmo and Cookie.
Speaker 1: And we have been very fortunate because we also received
Speaker 1: funding again from the Lego Foundation to create these specials
Speaker 1: around the world and we've done so now in over
Speaker 1: fifty countries in thirteen languages. And and when parents don't
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to send their childish school, they need resources,
Speaker 1: they need insights and tips on how to create a
Speaker 1: learning environment at home, and they have access to media.
Speaker 1: So we've also done short form and a lot of
Speaker 1: content specific to COVID in helping parents respond, helping them
Speaker 1: address the challenges, the socio emotional challenges that this presents
Speaker 1: to children and basic prevention messages and those I am
Speaker 1: thrilled to say have been uh distributed over a hundred
Speaker 1: countries in over thirty nine languages, and we've provided hundreds
Speaker 1: of hours of educational media to ministries of education around
Speaker 1: the world. We've created CNN town Hall specials to answer
Speaker 1: parents and children's questions, and will continue to look at
Speaker 1: every way we can to respond to the needs of
Speaker 1: families and children during these challenging times. And so for
Speaker 1: us to be able to provide the tools and the
Speaker 1: language and the resources to do so in an age
Speaker 1: appropriate way, I think is so important. It's really great. So, Sherry,
Speaker 1: I've admired so much what you've been able to do
Speaker 1: over the years, and I wonder a little bit about you.
Speaker 1: Was there something in your childhood or background that made
Speaker 1: you the leader that you are the woman you are
Speaker 1: today doing this great, great work. I can't think necessarily
Speaker 1: of a pivotal moment. But it's funny because I was
Speaker 1: talking to Hank Paulson recently, who has also started, you know,
Speaker 1: doing podcasts, and and he asked a question about, you know,
Speaker 1: what sparked your interest in UM public service and and
Speaker 1: and I was thinking back, it was, you know, thinking
Speaker 1: about growing up and I I guess for everyone were
Speaker 1: who we become as a product in some part of
Speaker 1: our parents and my parents, you know, my mother is
Speaker 1: the most outgoing. Um always love children. We grow up
Speaker 1: with just children and friends and neighbors everywhere. She was
Speaker 1: the favorite mom, so everyone came to our house. And
Speaker 1: my father has a great storytell or, a great um
Speaker 1: has a great sense of humor. And when I look
Speaker 1: at my path on how I got to Sesame Street,
Speaker 1: it wasn't a straight line, but they instilled in me
Speaker 1: sort of a love of children, and so I really
Speaker 1: thought i'd be a teacher. I loved education. I worked
Speaker 1: with children my whole life. When I went to Washington
Speaker 1: after college, because you're so excited about all that Washington offers.
Speaker 1: At that age, I got much more involved in politics
Speaker 1: and and public service and media and really started to
Speaker 1: understand when I was at the White House that you
Speaker 1: public service could be used to address systemic issues rather
Speaker 1: than one on one with the child. We could do
Speaker 1: so much through government through public service. And it's a
Speaker 1: long way of saying that when I adopted my daughter Lily,
Speaker 1: I had gone back to ABC and I that is
Speaker 1: my pivotal moment. It wasn't as a child, but all
Speaker 1: of those things caring about children, interested in education, tying
Speaker 1: that into public service and media. I think when I
Speaker 1: became a mom and adopted my daughter from China. It
Speaker 1: all came together because I focused then on the importance
Speaker 1: of educational media. For the first time, I was paying
Speaker 1: attention to children's programming and quality children's programming, and Sesame
Speaker 1: Street was just the perfect place I could combined everything
Speaker 1: I cared about education. What better place to be as
Speaker 1: a as a mom and policy and communications and as
Speaker 1: a nonprofit organization doing the work we're doing, and the
Speaker 1: need to raise the money to support that work. It's
Speaker 1: so important to tell these stories and to and I
Speaker 1: will say if there's every if there's any pivotal moment
Speaker 1: in helping me connect all those dots and end up
Speaker 1: where I did. It was becoming Lily's mom. Oh that's
Speaker 1: so beautiful. And now you're the mom of so many
Speaker 1: children around the world because you're doing all of these
Speaker 1: amazing good works for them. As we end this wonderful conversation,
Speaker 1: what makes you optimistic? I have a feeling I know
Speaker 1: what you're gonna say, but but really, what gives you
Speaker 1: hope today? Because there is so much of a feeling
Speaker 1: of depression and darkness, uh and people having a really
Speaker 1: rough time. Well, I mean, if you anticipate what I'm
Speaker 1: going to say. It's probably children, and and that that
Speaker 1: is I mean, I don't want to sound cliche that
Speaker 1: children are the hope, but I I feel that so deeply.
Speaker 1: And I would say, in spite of these incredibly challenging times,
Speaker 1: one thing that does encourage me is that because of
Speaker 1: this pandemic, education is more top of mind than ever.
Speaker 1: And in all of my convergensations internationally globally, there is
Speaker 1: no one talking about how we recover um and build
Speaker 1: back better, if you will, from what we've learned that
Speaker 1: doesn't focus on education. We have to and I feel
Speaker 1: like it's put um children at the top of the
Speaker 1: issues that matter most and and I hope that includes
Speaker 1: early education. I think there's a much greater appreciation of
Speaker 1: how important that is, and that does give me some
Speaker 1: sense of optimism. Well, thank you so much, Sherry, thank
Speaker 1: you for what you do. We thank sesame workshop, congratulations
Speaker 1: on the new position you're about to take on. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much and continued good luck for the sake
Speaker 1: of the children here in our country and around the world. Well,
Speaker 1: can I say one last thing, Milon, because when you
Speaker 1: think of role models and when you think of inspiring
Speaker 1: young women and girls. You are at the top of
Speaker 1: that list, and you have made such a difference by
Speaker 1: inspiring so many of us, so I want to thank
Speaker 1: you as well. Oh well, that's lovely. I probably shouldn't
Speaker 1: have given you extra time for that, but anyway, ever,
Speaker 1: onward as we say, and thanks again. It's amazing how
Speaker 1: much good can be accomplished with vision, persistence, and a
Speaker 1: cast of fuzzy muppets. Here are three things I took
Speaker 1: away from my conversation with Sherry Weston. First, never underestimate
Speaker 1: the power of media and muppets. In Afghanistan, for instance,
Speaker 1: Sesame Workshop has not only improved children's literacy scores, but
Speaker 1: also persuaded their parents that sending their daughters to school
Speaker 1: is a good thing. Second, as Sherry tells us, we
Speaker 1: must not forget about the world's ongoing humanitarian crises, such
Speaker 1: as the millions of people displaced by the Syrian conflict,
Speaker 1: and we can help make a real difference there by
Speaker 1: directing resources to children's early education. Finally, remember that representation matters.
Speaker 1: A world of possibilities opens up for children when they
Speaker 1: see themselves reflected in the media, whether it's Zari the
Speaker 1: girl muppet in Afghanistan who joyously attends school, or the
Speaker 1: purple muppet named Bosma will be friends a refugee boy
Speaker 1: muppet named Jad. Kids can absorb the most serious and
Speaker 1: important lessons when they're accompanied by a dose of relatability,
Speaker 1: and for that we can thank Sherry Weston and Sesame Workshop.
Speaker 1: Tune in next Tuesday to hear about our next featured
Speaker 1: woman and discover why she's one of Seneca's one Women
Speaker 1: to Hear. Seneca's one hundred Women to Hear is a
Speaker 1: collaboration between the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: with support from founding partner Pung. Have a Great Day,