Turkish animation studio Fauna has partnered with pop star Özgün to produce a digital-first animated series encouraging preschoolers to be more inclusive of people with Down syndrome.

Ediko (26 x two minutes) is a music-led offering that teaches through song. Özgün, who has made a handful of albums that have charted in Turkey, is composing all of the original tunes and will produce the show through his music label EDZ. Ediko is inspired by Özgün’s son, who has Down syndrome.

The pop star behind such songs as “Sadece Arkadaşız” and “Mühür” approached Fauna with the concept, and is financing the production. Ediko will start rolling out later this month on his kid-skewing YouTube channel Ediko TV.

As part of the deal, Fauna will take over management of Ediko TV, which has 58,000 subscribers and features animated musical videos and songs from Özgün’s 2021 Children’s Songs album.

There has been a notable uptick in kids TV projects spotlighting Down syndrome this year, including Big Jump Entertainment’s Griffin and Turner for TVOKids in Canada. Gaumont and Scholastic are also co-developing and co-producing Rocket Park, an adaptation of a book series based on a real-life kid with the chromosome disorder.

According to the United Nations, 3,000 to 5,000 kids are born with Down syndrome each year worldwide.