[2][4][5] Satellite broadcaster Future Television of Lebanon picked up the show in November 2005, expanding possible viewership to more than 200 million viewers in the Arab States.
[2][6] The show is set in the imaginary Alam Simsim (Sesame World) neighborhood in Egypt, which looks like a greener version of Old Cairo.
The public square includes a store owned by 'Am Girgas (a Coptic grocer)[7] and a carpenter's shop owned by 'Am Hussein, while the apartments above the stores are occupied by 'Am Hussein's family: his wife, 'Ama Kheireya, his teenage daughter Mona, and his young son Kareem.
Nimnim ("tiny") is a large green furry creature who wears a cap from upper Egypt and a patterned vest.
[14] The show, in addition to teaching basic literacy and mathematics, also focuses on regional issues, including gender equality, girls' education, and health and hygiene.
[15] In 2006 AlKarma Edutainment worked with Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs to create public service announcements featuring the Alam Simsim characters to raise awareness about avian influenza and how to avoid contracting it.
However, many of the families involves in the initiative and in the study were poorer, and thus were not able to actually implement some of the changes they had learned about, such as buying toothbrushes or fresh produce.