Additional Context

Category: Website/ Microsite

Award Submission
Sesame Workshop International Digital Platform

Modus is a global digital agency innovating at the intersection of people and product for the world’s leading brands. We define digital strategies, design experiences, and engineer products that inspire humans and transform organizations. Headquartered in New York, we also have offices in Buenos Aires and Manila. For more information, visit www.modusagency.com

About Modus

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame, the pioneering television program that has been reaching out and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help children around the world grow up smart, strong, and kind. We are present in more than 150 countries, serving children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each based on rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of communities. those we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org

To expand Sesame Workshop’s programming to vulnerable families in rural areas with low-bandwidth internet access, we designed, developed, and launched easy-to-manage web, responsive mobile, and native apps. The result is a single, reusable framework that can be deployed in any language, in any country, and support fully localized content. To date, we have launched new Sesame websites in Latin America, China, Japan and the Middle East, as well as a WhatsApp chatbot.

Project Summary

We needed to create a tech platform that could be used across multiple regions, including areas with low-bandwidth internet access. Goals included improving the user experience and increasing engagement for children, parents, and educators, who need meaningful content whether at school or at home.

Goals and Objectives 

Results & Impact


“We are incredibly grateful for these partnerships that allow us to meet the needs of more children and families in contexts coping with the dual crises of displacement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Their support enables us to provide the early education and nurturing care that families want and need and we look forward to building on this work for years to come.” 

Brenda Campos, Director of Social Impact for Latin America, Sesame Workshop. 

The global pandemic has exacerbated many of the vulnerabilities facing underprivileged families and increased demand for children's educational content that can be delivered remotely. According to the UN, over half of the world’s refugees are children. Additionally, the UN warned recently that two-thirds of refugee children might not make it to secondary school. While COVID-19 has been disruptive for all children, the dual crises of the pandemic and displacement are especially severe for refugee children.


In many areas of the world, children’s access to the internet is limited by local infrastructure or a lack of permanent housing, especially for those impacted by conflict and crisis. Solutions developed by Modus Agency on behalf of Sesame Workshop help bridge the digital divide to meet the needs of more children and families, providing early childhood education and
nurturing programming. 

Recently, we developed the WhatsApp Early Childhood Education Intervention for Sésamo, the local version of Sesame Street in Latin America. WhatsApp is the primary rich-digital platform in underdeveloped countries. The chatbot connects families to a range of videos, educational games, and fun activities that are free and accessible on demand. New materials focused on social-emotional learning are regularly added to meet the needs of families affected by crises. As a key implementing partner to Sesame Workshop, we’re bringing early education to children who need these intervention measures most.

“Everyone is so excited to see this all coming together as beautifully as it is.”

Lewis Kofsky, VP and General Manager of Latin America & Executive Producer, International, Sesame Workshop