The creators of Sesame Street and the Merrill Lynch Foundation have created an interactive website … Panwapa… to help young children become responsible global citizens and develop new skills and perspectives in an increasingly interconnected world.

Panwapa (meaning ‘here on this earth’ in the Tshiluba language) aims to foster global citizenship and community activism in children ages 4 to 7. The Panwapa interactive website features a new cast of Muppet characters and is available in five languages … Arabic, English, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish.

The Panwapa website, DVD, and print materials will help children understand other cultures and develop an appreciation for the differences and similarities of others, with a focus on global citizenship.

International cultural experts, early childhood researchers, educators and media specialists from 9 countries and organizations … including Oxfam, UNICEF, and World Bank … came up with the idea for Panwapa in 2005.

On the Panwapa website, children will travel around the world and visit with kids from other countries. Kids can watch interactive movies, learn words in other languages, and go on international treasure hunts.

Parents, teachers and caregivers can use the Panwapa media as an educational framework to help children become motivated, responsible global citizens.

The 5 broad educational goals are:

* Awareness of the wider world.
* Appreciating similarities and differences.
* Taking responsibility for one’s behaviors.
* Community participation and willingness to take action.
* Understanding of and responsiveness to economic disparity.