Sesame Workshop has put out an open call for two-minute live-action shorts from Ukrainian creators and prodcos, targeting kids ages three to eight and their families and caregivers.

The nonprofit company is currently accepting proposals for concepts that feature “a mix of documentary [content] with some scripted narrative,” and that are “authentic, genuine and empowering for Ukrainian children,” says Sesame senior director and supervising producer of International Social Impact Estee Bardanashvili.

In its initial response to the crisis, the Workshop dubbed some existing content into Ukrainian and uploaded it to its YouTube channel (23 million subscribers) over the summer. And the next step in its response is to produce original content. 

Sesame is looking for a package of short films featuring positive identity around Ukrainian heritage, customs, food, family and celebration. These depictions should  “help children cope with the crisis and trauma in their lives, but also find those moments of playfulness, joy and learning, which is so critical at their young age,” says Bardanashvili. More information on the callout can be found in this request for proposal.

According to UNICEF, nearly two-thirds of children from Ukraine have experienced displacement this year since Russia first breached the country’s borders. 

In May and June, Sesame organized a mix of in-person and online interviews with parents and caregivers of Ukrainian children. They spoke about their kids’ experiences with conflict and displacement, their challenges in joining new schools and navigating language barriers, and also about the type of content they would like their children to watch right now.

“Data is the key for us to understand what is most effective,” Bardanashvili says, which is why Sesame has lined up more research over the next two months that will shape the development of the live-action shorts. “We will test [the films] out with caregivers/families in Ukraine and on the bordering countries to understand if we are on the right track, or if we need to pivot a little to maybe address something that we haven’t heard of yet, since the crisis is evolving.”

While the film package will have a YouTube-first launch in February 2023, Bardanashvili says Sesame also plans to make them accessible through other platforms and direct services.

This content callout falls under the broader Welcome Sesame initiative, which seeks to provide joyful programming and educational resources specifically for kids and families affected by conflict and displacement. The program launched in 2020 with support for Arabic-language Muppet series Ahlan SimSim, and it has since completed projects across MENA, East Africa, Latin America, Bangladesh (pictured) and, most recently this year, Afghanistan and Ukraine.