Practical knowledge for everyone raising a child

Across the Middle East, the IRC works in partnership with governments, local organizations, and communities in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine through a wide range of programs covering education, early childhood development, protection, health, economic well-being, and emergency response.

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a core priority for the IRC, driven by the belief that the early years of a child's life provide the foundation for lifelong growth, learning, and well-being. Through its partnership with Sesame Workshop under the Ahlan Simsim initiative, the IRC leads a range of programs and digital solutions designed to expand access to trusted, high-quality content on Early Childhood Development and early learning. Family Corner is one of these solutions, providing an open digital platform that brings together educational and guidance materials, programs, and tools that support children, caregivers, teachers, facilitators, and trainers across diverse contexts.

The IRC continues to invest in the development of innovative digital solutions and strategic partnerships that expand access to early childhood services and content while strengthening their impact and long-term sustainability across the region.

• Explore hundreds of activities and educational resources designed for caregivers and children.
• Access Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs designed for professionals working with children.
• Discover practical, evidence-based parenting tips.
• Use the Family Corner chatbot to get answers to everyday parenting questions and real-life situations involving children.
• Browse our library of educational resources for children, including stories, educational videos, songs, worksheets, and entertaining content.
• Access dedicated resources for caregivers, teachers, trainers, and Early Childhood Development professionals.

A free digital service that enables caregivers to access age-appropriate tips and activities through WhatsApp and Telegram. The chatbot provides responses based on Ahlan Simsim resources and Vroom tips.

• More than 70,000 users
• 41,000 users have received tips and activities
• More than 275,000 tips and activities have been delivered
• 83% of users reported that the content was helpful
• 90% of users completed the activities with their children

Whenever you need quick support, you can use the chatbot on WhatsApp to receive age-appropriate tips, activities, and resources for your child.

Family Corner's social media pages provide trusted Arabic content for caregivers on child development, parenting, learning through play, well-being, and emergency support.

Follow Family Corner for the latest tips, activities, and practical ideas to support children's development and encourage learning through play.

• More than 570,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram
• Regularly updated interactive content
• Vroom tips
• Activities and resources from Ahlan Simsim

As families increasingly rely on digital platforms, Ahlan Simsim's digital channels provide trusted, evidence-based content and resources that expand access to Early Childhood Development and early learning in a cost-effective and scalable way. Through these channels, Ahlan Simsim develops culturally and linguistically relevant resources tailored to different age groups, addressing the needs of children, caregivers, teachers, and facilitators across the region.

The development of Ahlan Simsim's digital initiatives and products has been guided by a human-centered design approach, involving caregivers, children, teachers, facilitators, and partners across several Arab countries.

Through ongoing consultations and research conducted in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, several key needs were identified that have shaped the development of our digital solutions and products:

• Families need trusted Arabic content. Caregivers reported feeling overwhelmed by the abundance of conflicting and unreliable parenting advice, while high-quality Arabic content they could depend on remained limited.
• Children need safe and meaningful digital experiences. As children spent increasing amounts of time in front of screens and were exposed to non-educational digital content, the need for engaging, safe, and age-appropriate digital experiences became increasingly evident.
• Teachers and facilitators need practical digital tools. Teachers and facilitators relied on fragmented, predominantly paper-based resources, with limited digital tools to help them access content, plan sessions, and strengthen their professional skills.
• Early Childhood Development programs need more efficient content management. Program teams required a unified system to organize, manage, update, and publish content through a single platform.

These insights continue to guide Ahlan Simsim's digital learning priorities and product development, ensuring that our digital solutions respond to users' needs while evolving alongside their expectations.

In response to these identified needs, Ahlan Simsim has developed an interconnected ecosystem of digital products that serves different user groups and supports a range of objectives.

Each digital product has been designed to address the needs of a specific audience while remaining connected within an integrated digital ecosystem that supports children, caregivers, teachers, and partners.

Together, these tools improve access to trusted content, strengthen engagement with users, and enhance content management and updating processes, contributing to greater impact, sustainability, and expanded reach.

Our work is guided by five core principles:

• Continuous Improvement: We continuously enhance our products based on user feedback and insights.
• Personalization at Scale: We provide support and content tailored to users' diverse needs and contexts.
• Innovation in Service Delivery: We leverage technology and digital solutions to expand access and maximize impact.
• Expanding Access to Arabic Content: We provide trusted, culturally relevant, and easy-to-use Arabic resources.
• Practical and Timely Support: We design actionable content that helps users in their daily lives and responds to their needs.

To achieve this vision, Ahlan Simsim focuses on:

• Developing products driven by genuine user needs and real demand.
• Building a unified digital ecosystem that helps users access the channel that best meets their needs.
• Strengthening trust by integrating digital engagement with direct, in-person interaction.
• Developing more personalized digital solutions, including the use of Artificial Intelligence to support caregivers.
• Preparing for emerging digital trends while recognizing different levels of access to technology.
• Building new partnerships with governments, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and the private sector to expand reach and strengthen long-term sustainability and impact.

Vroom is built on a simple idea: supporting children's learning and development does not require extra time or special resources. Instead, the everyday moments that caregivers already share with their children can become meaningful opportunities for learning, connection, and skill-building.

By translating the latest brain development research into practical everyday activities, Vroom helps caregivers recognize the value of what they are already doing and encourages them to make the most of these everyday interactions.

Vroom was created with the goal of making the science of early brain development and early learning more accessible, understandable, and actionable for families and caregivers.

The development of Vroom was informed by years of research on early learning and brain development, supported by the Bezos Family Foundation. As this body of knowledge grew, one central question emerged: How can we make this science simple, practical, and useful for parents and caregivers?

Research showed that many traditional messages directed at families felt difficult to apply or disconnected from their daily lives. As a result, Vroom chose to focus on what caregivers are already doing well and help them transform ordinary everyday interactions into valuable opportunities that support their children's development.

To transform everyday moments shared between children and caregivers into opportunities for brain building and learning.

Vroom empowers parents and caregivers to make the most of the everyday moments they already share with their children, turning them into opportunities that support learning, development, and growth.

This mission is grounded in the belief that every caregiver already has the tools and abilities needed to support their child, and that learning can happen anytime, anywhere.

Vroom is built on a set of core values that ensure its content remains simple, practical, evidence-based, and relevant to families' everyday lives.

• Positivity and Empowerment: Vroom encourages caregivers to focus on what they are already doing well and builds their confidence in their ability to support their children's development.
• Accessibility and Practicality: Tips and activities are designed to be simple, flexible, and easy to incorporate into a wide variety of environments and daily routines.
• Evidence-Based: All Vroom content is grounded in the latest research on early learning and brain development and is presented in clear, easy-to-understand language.
• Meeting Families Where They Are: Vroom recognizes the realities of families' everyday lives. It does not require extra time or special resources, but instead builds on the routines and interactions that already exist.

Vroom is more than an awareness campaign or a collection of parenting tips. It is a movement dedicated to creating positive changes in the way caregivers interact with their children.

Vroom was designed to be more than a standalone platform or program. It represents an approach that translates science into simple daily practices that anyone can use.

By promoting a shared language and easy-to-use concepts, Vroom aims to build a culture that encourages caregivers to make the most of everyday moments to support their children's learning and development. It helps families recognize that they already have everything they need to be their child's first and most important teacher.

At the same time, Vroom celebrates the strengths and resources that families already possess while remaining flexible enough to adapt to the needs of diverse communities and cultural contexts.