OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panasonic Corporation held the KWN Global Summit 2017, and the children participating from 18 countries and region presented their ideas under the title of "Our Proposal For A Better Future." The children's ideas included a society where people help each other and recognize diversity, a society where individuals can live the way they want to, a society without inequality, and a society that develops technologies that allow people to live in happiness. Amid a global environment that calls for the world to work more closely together, they created ideas for inclusive societies from their own perspective of the global issues facing society.

The KWN Global Summit 2017 was held as part 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. It runs from August 1 to 5 in Tokyo, bringing together around 100 representatives of 26 schools from 18 countries and region who won the KWN Global Contest 2017 in their respective countries. It is a next-generation development program that gives the children and youth, coming from different cultural backgrounds with different social issues, the chance to introduce their own country and find out more about the other countries, letting them experience what an inclusive society is and build ideas of future societies. This was the first time to hold Panasonic KWN Global summit as part of the KWN program.

Under the theme of "A Better Life, A Better Future," a vision of society Panasonic is pursuing, the 100 participants (including 52 kid journalists) from 18 countries and region around the world gathered news and experienced the town and society of Tokyo, while holding discussions beyond national borders. They made presentations on ideas to shape the future together with "Our Proposal For A Better Future" as a theme.

Guests attending the presentation meeting on August 4 included Kaoru Nemoto, director of the United Nations Information Centre in Tokyo, Masaaki Komiya, Vice Director General of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, Duane Kale, Governing Board member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and members of the various countries’ embassies. Executive Officer Satoshi Takeyasu gave a speech on behalf of Panasonic Corporation as the organizer of the summit. "The voices of the children, as members of the coming generation, will have our impact on society, inspiring innovation. It is my intention to listen and fully absorb their messages, to realize the hidden potential these children have." The children's presentations on their proposals for a better future measured up to this expectation. The attending guests gave feedback on the presentations and praised the children as future global leaders, encouraging them to build together a future from a global perspective. "Youth engagement is important for us. You are the change makers. Every one of you has the power to make a better future,” said Kaoru Nemoto.

Panasonic hopes to help children develop the required qualities and skills to live in the future society and to foster global talent. From this perspective, Panasonic will give its full support to children and youth through this program, to enable them to show all of their skills and potential in striving toward their dreams and the future.

What is KWN?
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 regions 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 of this activity is "The World Through Their Eyes." The program will help the kid journalists sharpen their eyes to look at society, while respecting the children's view of the world.

[URL]
• KWN Global (English)
http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/kwn.html
• ”Proposal for A Better Future” by Kids Journalist - KWN Global Summit 2017
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/21225/
• KWN Global Summit Event Movie
https://youtu.be/pyOWJLYINXA
• KWN Global Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_XxTspUpRw
• KWN Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/PanasonicKWN.Global/
• KWN Global Contest 2017
http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/kwn/contest2017.html

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.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Global Communications Department
Panasonic Corporation
Tel: +81-(0)3-3574-5664