Grover’s influence is going beyond the block of Sesame Street and across the globe as a UN Road Safety Ambassador. International PSAs airing later this spring will featuring an animated version of Grover engaging in wise road safety exercises. Grover will not be speaking, but will showing a thumb up in each video. These announcements are meant to meet a global audience that speaks many different languages. Broadcasters in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Middle East begin airing the PSAs in May.
In addition to the PSAs, Sesame Workshop and the Global Road Safety Partnership are jointly developing a Road Safety Education Framework intended as a practical guide for Road Safety educators, parents and practitioners who are developing content, educational materials and communication strategies to help children better understand the risks associated with travel on or near the roads, and to internalize and implement safer behaviors around roads and vehicles.
The objectives of the Sesame Street Road Safety Campaign are:
- To help children understand that vehicles are complex and technical things that need skill, caution and preparation to ride in them and be around them;
- To build in children an “I can” attitude toward this positive mind-set and behavior;
- To develop a sense of respect for the car and the road and help children engage in their use with deliberate responsibility (rather than casual acceptance);
- To empower children to take action in communicating this positive and proactive attitude to their family and friends; and
- To make the safe use of cars and roads a priority and a shared family experience.