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.