National Winners from 18 Countries and Region Selected for Panasonic KWN Global Contest 2017

Panasonic Corporation has completed the final judging process for the Global Contest 2017 of "Kid Witness News (KWN)," an educational program designed to support the video production of elementary, junior high, and high school students around the world with the KWN concept of “The World Through Their Eyes.”

The 26 national winners for the KWN Global Contest 2017 have been selected and approximately 100 representatives of the 26 winning schools in 18 different countries and region have been invited to Tokyo to attend the "KWN Global Summit 2017" from August 1 to 5, which will be held for the first time. During this period, the Grand Prix winners will be announced at the KWN Global Contest 2017 awards on August 4.

Amid a global environment that calls for the world to work more closely together, the "KWN Global Summit 2017" is a new initiative for nurturing the next generation of young global leaders, which seeks to provide them with the opportunity for furthering mutual understanding and promoting peaceful coexistence, with the aim of "Create Our Future Together" by looking at social issues from a global perspective. Around 100 representatives have been invited from 18 countries and region around the world to visit Tokyo to spend five days working together through interviews and discussions and sharing the ideas, geared towards "Create Our Future Together."

The children will study the issues together through their "eyes" and give presentations entitled "Our Proposal For A Better Future" on August 4 for KWN Global Summit 2017. Their activities are scheduled to be broadcast live via KWN Facebook and Youtube.

KWN activities are currently being conducted in 18 different countries and region around the world as part of Panasonic's educational support activities for the next generation. This is an interactive educational program in which participating schools are supplied with video equipment and the videos they produce are judged in contests every year. The children complete the entire production process themselves, from planning to investigation, filming, and editing. First launched in the United States in 1989, KWN has now been running for 28 years with a total of more than 180,000 children and their teachers taking part so far. This year saw around 5,000 people took part from 18 different countries and region around the world, with submissions received from 343 schools. The five-minute videos were produced on three broad themes – "communication," "environment," and "sports" – as the children offered their own unique perspectives on issues close to them like sports, global environmental problems, and people who have dealt with families, disabilities, and PTSD. The 26 national winning entries from 18 countries and region can be viewed on the official KWN website.

[Related Website]
- KWN Global Contest 2017 special website
http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/kwn/contest2017.html
- KWN Global (English)
http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/kwn.html
- KWN Facebook (English)
https://www.facebook.com/PanasonicKWN.Global/

KWN 2017 national winners
(Listed alphabetically by country name)
No		Country/school/title		Topic/details
Elementary schools
1		[Austria] Private Elementary School of the Franciscan Sisters		Communication: The video describes the message of the importance of friendship; life is more fun with friends.
		What is important to us?
2		[Canada] Ecole Rockingham School		Communication: The video shows their unique group work with the entire school celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary with each member holding up a card about patriotism.
		Here's Our Canada
3		[China] Beijing Haidian Wanquan Primary School		Communication: The video depicts the sadness of Beijing children who spend their entire days studying.
		One day of Beijing Kids
4		[Czech Republic] Primary School of Josef Bublik, Banov		Communication: The students from two villages overcome their hatred to learn love and respect transcending religious and ethnic differences thanks to their teacher’s lessons.
		Against the hatred
5		[Germany] School at Ernst-Reuter-Place		Communication: The children of different countries and cultures assemble at one school and transcend language barriers to come together through dance.
		Tell me what you want!
6		[Hong Kong] Yuen Long Government Primary School		Environment: A strange email received from the year 2077 tells the children of water shortages and environmental devastation in the future.
		2077
7		[Indonesia] Al Azhar 17 Bintaro Islamic Elementary School		Communication: Questioning the danger of children losing their desire to learn because of limited, one-way discussion and communication.
		Silent Language
8		[Japan] FC Força Hahajima		Communication & Environment: The video shows how people living on the island of Hahajima, Ogasawara are connected to their beautiful natural surroundings.
		Sharing Ties
9		[Malaysia] Long Sepiling Primary School		Communication: The video focusing on hands, with the message that hands are a divine gift that joins people together.
		THE POWER OF HANDS
10		[Slovakia] Primary School with Kindergarten of Rudolf Dilong		Communication: The importance of expressing respect and gratitude to our mothers with interviews and acted scenes is underlining in the movie.
		My mum
11		[Thailand] Assumption Samutprakarn School		Sports: The main character of the video learns about sportsmanship and paying respect to one's opponent.
		The Winner
12		[United States of America] Rancho Minerva Middle School		Communication: A 92-year-old US Navy veteran and a 14-year-old child of immigrant parents write a letter to today’s America with their message about patriotism and the importance of family.
		Dear America
13		[Vietnam] Master Hand Children Group		Communication: A young boy shows how advances in technology have left him lonely due to insufficient communication with his parents.
		THEY TALK TO ME, FINALLY
Junior high and high schools
14		[Austria] Ried Polytechnic School		Communication: A student obsessed with computer games loses both friends and the chance to go to a good school. But his classmates care about him, trying to help him find a balance between the virtual world and the real world.
		Back to Reality
15		[Brazil] Guilherme Dumont Villares School		Communication: A homeless boy encounters the world of music and sees his own world changed
		Light of Melody
16		[Germany] Wirsberg-Gymnasium		Communication: The video is a comedic documentary taking a humorous look at the various attempts and difficulties encountered producing this video from the students’ aspects.
		Attention Film!
17		[Indonesia] Regina Pacis Junior High School		Communication: A girl who had lost her will to live searches desperately for, and ultimately discovers a new purpose.
		Love Letters
18		[Japan] Fukushima Prefectural Iwaki Senior High School		Communication: The video without words shows communication is the best way of bringing people closer together.
		Open.
19		[Malaysia] Batu Lintang National Secondary School		Sports: The story is following a disabled athlete who never gave up on her dream and made a contribution to her country by winning a Paralympic medal.
		PALALYMPIAN
20		[Oman] Indian School Al Ghubra		Sports: The story is about a poor boy who is good at cricket pursuits his dreams to become a cricketer after his father’s death, conveying the message of the importance of the passion to make the dream come true.
		Legends are not born, but made!
21		[Panama] Saint Christopher Episcopal Institute		Sports: The video is a documentary which tells us that there is no limitation for achieving our dreams by depicting a young man who is trying to overcome obstacles through sports.
		7/10
22		[Tanzania] SWACCO		Communication: The video is focusing on AIDS, poverty, and sexual discrimination problems in Tanzania, showing that education is a force that can change society.
		FURAHA I –I have a Dream-, -One day-
23		[Thailand] Montfort College		Communication: The story of a young girl whose mother suffers from schizophrenia, and who falls into depression herself due to relationships with society and at school.
		Dead End
24		[United Arab Emirates] Elite Private School		Communication: The video is about the people suffering from PTSD due to war or the loss of loved ones get back on their feet with the support of those around them.
		Afflictions
25		[United States of America] Eastlake High school		Communication: The video is about a daughter and her father who wasted time and missed seeing his children grow up in their daily lives in the lack of communication.
		It’s Worth It
26		[Vietnam] Alpha Secondary School		Communication: The video is about social conditions in Vietnam, stressing the importance of freedom of expression for children in education.
		The Scribble Picture

About Panasonic Kid Witness News

KWN was launched in 1989 when the local Panasonic company in the United States supplied video recording and editing equipment to public elementary and junior high schools for an educational program in which children could produce news videos from their own perspective. The program was then developed globally, with 18 different countries and region taking part today. The aims of the KWN activities are, through video production, to foster creativity among the children, and to raise their social awareness as they investigate things like regional society and global environmental issues. Those overseeing the activities have also reported an educational value to the teamwork skills that can be cultivated through the video production process. The program also allows participating schools the opportunity for international exchange through the global network of KWN participating schools.

The concept for these activities is "The World Through Their Eyes." The program emphasizes the "world and perspectives as seen by children", and seeks to cultivate the "eyes" through which the Kids Journalists view their society.

*Participants: 18 countries and region
North America		Canada, United States
Latin America		Brazil, Panama
Europe		Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia
Middle East		Oman, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates
Asia		China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. Celebrating its 100^th anniversary in 2018, the company has expanded globally and now operates 495 subsidiaries and 91 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.343 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2017. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers. To learn more about Panasonic: http://www.panasonic.com/global.

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Contact information

Media Contact:
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