Kid Witness News (KWN) Global Summit 2023 Officially Announced: Calling for Participants to Vote and Select the Best Productions!

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Holdings Corporation (hereafter referred to as “Panasonic”) will host the Kid Witness News (KWN) Global Summit 2023 online on Saturday, October 21, 2023. KWN is Panasonic’s group-wide initiative, in which currently approximately 3,000 children from 11 countries around the world participate. KWN Global Summit 2023 is scheduled to be held from 9:00 p.m. to 10:40 p.m. (Japan Standard Time, GMT+9), where participants are encouraged to exchange with one another across national borders, centering on video works created by children representing the participating countries.

In this event, participants will gather in each country, and each location will be connected to a studio in Ariake, Tokyo, which will be broadcasted online. During this event, we will then stream images of the children working on the program, the exchange of opinions, and even the announcement of the various awards presented to particularly outstanding works.

• Organizer: Panasonic Holdings Corporation
• Main venue: Ariake Studio, Panasonic Center Tokyo, 3-5-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063
• Date: 9:00 p.m. to 10:40 p.m., Saturday, October 21, 2023 (Japan Standard Time, GMT+9)
• Participating countries (11 countries): Brazil, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vietnam

*Presented in alphabetical order
*The participants from Philippines and India will participate as observers.
*Participants will be able to view a live stream of the summit on the day of the summit.

For details and to watch the live stream, visit:

• KWN Global Summit 2023 (English):
  https://holdings.panasonic/global/corporate/sustainability/citizenship/kwn/summit2023.html
• KWN Global Summit 2023 Official Website (Japanese):
  https://holdings.panasonic/jp/corporate/sustainability/citizenship/kwn/global_summit2023.html

The summit will feature the presentation of three awards for the most outstanding productions submitted by each country.

1. The KWN Kids Award will be decided by votes from participating children.
2. The Panasonic Award will be awarded based on votes collected from Panasonic Group employees.
3. The KWN Fans Award will be awarded based on votes from the general public. Everyone around the world is able to cast their votes easily online.

Voting for the KWN Fans Award has opened on Friday, September 15. We hope you will take this opportunity to take a look at the productions these children have given their all to create, and that you will show your support by voting.

Vote here:

English
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023

Japanese
https://jp.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023_jp

Chinese
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023_cn

Arabic
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023?lang=ar

Indonesian
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023?lang=id

Vietnamese
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023?lang=vi

Portuguese
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023?lang=pt

Khmer 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWNFansAward2023?lang=km

In addition, on the day of the live stream of the summit, there will be a joint declaration by participating schools on the theme of SDGs, and Alfonso Galvez, who is from the Philippines and one of the IOC Young Leaders and is also active in broadcasting and programming of sporting events, social networking, and social contribution activities, will interact with participating countries. We will deliver scenes of children engaging in international exchange through a variety of programs, including “Say Hi! Relay in your language,” in which children teach greetings from their own country to other countries and experience each other’s culture.

KWN is part of Panasonic’s next-generation development support activities, in which Panasonic lends its professional video equipment to support filmmaking by children. Through filmmaking, the children work to enhance their creativity and communication skills and foster teamwork. Over the 34 years since the program began in the United States in 1989, it has had a cumulative total of more than 180,000 participants, including teachers. With these productions, created with themes like communication and the SDGs, this program has been delivering messages from children’s perspectives to help solve problems.

For many years, the KWN Global Contest represented an annual gathering for KWN contest winners in each country and region. In recent years, the KWN Global Summit has taken shape as a unified opportunity to learn about different cultures and deepen exchanges and to think together about global social issues and deepen understanding. This year’s event will be the fourth time the KWN Global Summit has been held.

The productions submitted from each country to the KWN Global Summit 2023, as well as other detailed information, can be found at the websites linked below.

Kid Witness News Global (English)
https://holdings.panasonic/global/corporate/sustainability/citizenship/kwn.html

Kid Witness News (KWN) Japan (Japanese)
https://holdings.panasonic/jp/corporate/sustainability/citizenship/kwn.html

KWN Global Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/PanasonicKWN.Global/

Panasonic’s Corporate Citizenship Activities (English)
https://holdings.panasonic/global/corporate/sustainability/citizenship.html

Corporate Citizenship Department, Panasonic Operational Excellence Co., Ltd.
Email: kid_witness_news@gg.jp.panasonic.com