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Bidaya, the leading children’s education Arabic content developer in the region, recently returned to twofour54’s studios to film the upcoming Iftah Ya Simsim series, centered on the values of caring, sharing, and self-improvement through healthful eating and cooking with family.

The 30-episode series, which started on the first day of Ramadan, showcases the importance of good nutrition and encourages parents and their children to prepare easy, delicious, and balanced meals together. The Iftah Ya Simsim Muppets make cooking and having a balanced diet a fun and engaging practice for all—with nutritious recipes endorsed and sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health. Mubadala Investment Company is also a sponsor of the show and encourages healthy lifestyles for children and families in the region.

H.E. Maryam Eid AlMheiri, CEO of Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said: “It is so wonderful to see our partner companies thriving and producing compelling content which conveys important values and life skills. We are particularly excited that Bidaya is introducing new programming in addition to its regular Iftah Ya Simsim seasons – which are extremely popular with Arab children.

“This new series is a wonderful example of quality, original Arabic content that is being produced. The making of the series also demonstrates the power and value of twofour54’s ecosystem including Media Mania as it is bringing together leading professionals from the twofour54 community to connect and create content for young people in our native language.”

Mr. Mohamed Hamad Al Hameli, Acting Undersecretary of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi said: “Building a healthy and active generation remains one of the top priorities at the Department of Health Abu Dhabi towards its vision for a healthier city. Our increased efforts to come up with innovative tools is aimed at reinforcing healthy habits for the next generation.

“With ‘Iftah Ya Simsim’ series showing in Ramdan, we stress that parents are the key to a healthier generation, and lead by example. Parents have the responsibility to help children maintain healthy lifestyles in order to make healthy food choices.”

Dr. Cairo Arafat, Managing Director of Bidaya, said: “Ramadan is the ideal time to reflect on ways we can improve ourselves and inspire others, most importantly reminding families that lead busy lives of the importance of spending quality time with their children”.

“Humbled by winning the prestigious Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Arabic Language Award in April 2018, we’re delighted and ever more excited to be back at twofour54’s studios and launching this special series that encourages parents and their children to work together to make healthy choices in the kitchen in a fun and engaging way of life.”

Filming for the Ramadan cooking series took place in twofour54’s state-of-the-art studios, which are equipped with world-class post-production facilities and equipment to support productions of all sizes. Freelancers and partners from the twofour54 wider community have also been involved with the production of the show.

The series is set to run on over 20+ television channels across the GCC and be available for the MENA region, with segments also available on the Iftah Ya Simsim’s YouTube channel.

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