'D' is for Diplomacy

The neon-furred likes of Bert and Ernie, Kermit the Frog and Cookie Monster might not fit the typical image of an ambassador. But when factions in politically volatile Northern Ireland are willing to cavort with Muppets, peace has a chance.

"I think even the most hardened revolutionary wants to have their grandchildren living in a world without a lot of the tensions and problems that they've inherited, which is not to say it's easy," says Gary Knell, president and chief executive officer of Sesame Workshop, which produces "Sesame Street."

Knell will speak about achieving global diplomacy with Muppets during his March 19th lecture "Muppet Diplomacy: How Sesame Street is Changing Our World." The 5:30 p.m. event is at Duke's Sanford Institute of Public Policy and is co-sponsored by the Hart Leadership Program and the Center for Child and Family Policy.

It's an opportunity to learn how the nonprofit Sesame Workshop uses scientific research as the starting place for improving the lives of children and families, says Kenneth Dodge, the center's director.

"Sesame Street," which first aired in 1969, and other programs produced by Sesame Workshop use the power of television to plant the seeds of diplomacy in youth from more than 140 countries. The shows feature people and Muppets working through moral and relationship dilemmas, as well as colorful methods of teaching letters and numbers.

"It's not just the U.S. show being dumped into another country and dubbed in a foreign language," says Knell, noting that Sesame Workshop partners with educators and creative talent around the world to develop characters and story lines specific to each community. "These are local, indigenous productions dealing with specific issues of our time."

For example, after the Oslo Accords of 1993, Muppets appeared in productions in the Middle East to work toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians. As tensions escalated in the Balkans, the Muppets got their own show in Kosovo. Kami, an HIV-positive Muppet, became a regular on a show in South Africa. In the U.S., today's characters deal with physical disabilities, including parents returning from military duty with missing limbs.

A few days before Knell speaks at Duke, he will launch a new "Sesame Street" production in Northern Ireland. First Minister Ian Paisley, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams have all been supportive of the project, Knell says.

"We're providing a window of possibilities by not preaching to parents and kids but by opening their eyes to humanize the other side by showing day-to-day life," Knell says. "We aren't so naïve as to think we can change the world, but they may think a little differently about someone they may have been taught to hate."

Gary Knell, CEO of Sesame Workshop, will discuss "Muppet Diplomacy" at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 19, in Sanford Institute, Room 04. Free. Information: www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu or call 613-9350.