SECAUCUS, N.J., May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic
announces that Val Verde High School
from Perris, California has
defended its position to become the winner in the 22nd annual
Panasonic Kid Witness News video competition, competing with more
than 50 schools across the United
States to take home the 2012 US Best Video of the Year award
with their creative video about recycling titled "Fuhgeddaboutit."
This year's competition was based on the theme "The Environment."
The Val Verde High School team was also one of the top four
winning teams who received a KWN New Vision Award. Val Verde's video will represent the US in the
Panasonic Global Kid Witness News Awards competition against
finalists representing 31 countries from around the world.
Daniel Flower, Principal of
Val Verde High School stated,
"Val Verde High School is excited to
claim the US Best Video of the Year award two years in a row, and
we can't say enough about the opportunity Panasonic offers kids
through its Kid Witness News program to learn about the latest
digital video equipment, to produce meaningful stories through
their eyes, and learn from first-hand, real-life experience what
professionals in the digital video industry do – this all gives
them more self-confidence and a glimpse at a potential career
path."
To receive the award, Val Verde High
School's student team traveled this week to New Jersey to visit the headquarters of
Panasonic Corporation of North
America and participate in the company's New Vision Awards
ceremony along with fellow finalists Maui High School (Kahului, HI), Vista Academy High School
(Denver, CO) and Vista Academy of
Visual and Performing Arts (Vista,
CA). Each of the schools received a New Vision Award for
their creative videos on environmental issues, including topics of
recycling, toxic landfills, beach cleaning and the importance of
ecosystems.
Finalists in the US national competition receive a Panasonic Kid
Witness News New Vision Award trophy, a banner to prominently hang
in their school and a "Winners' Weekend" which includes an all
expense paid trip to the New York
City Metro area for the awards ceremony program and a day
seeing the sights in New York
City. The US Best Video of the Year award winner also
receives a suite of Panasonic products.
The New Vision Award finalist schools and Panasonic US Best
Video of the Year award recipient are selected by an independent
panel of professionals comprised of educators, broadcasters,
journalists, entertainers and industry leaders, who volunteer their
time and expertise. Videos submitted for competition were initially
reviewed by students and faculty from the Bronx Community College Film Division (Bronx, NY) with the top videos submitted for a
final round of judging by the independent panel.
Panasonic Kid Witness News is a unique, hands-on video education
program created to encourage students to develop valuable
cognitive, communication and organizational skills. The
program began in 1989 with one school in New Jersey and has since grown to include
participants from 76 schools throughout the United States and 718 schools from 31
countries worldwide. Panasonic provides participating schools
with a complete Digital Video Studio and suggested guidelines to
augment the school's curriculum to encourage the children to
express how they view the world around them. Under supervision, the
students create, produce, direct and edit video shorts throughout
the school year, and are asked to create one video based on an
annual theme for submission in the yearly Panasonic
competition. The schools were provided with a Panasonic
professional HD video camera so their work could be produced in
High Definition quality.
"The future is today's youth, so enabling them to have access to
greater opportunities to express themselves and improve their
skills is critical for them and all of us," said Joseph Taylor, Chairman & Chief Executive
Officer, Panasonic Corporation of North America. "The
Panasonic Kid Witness News program was designed to put technology
in the hands of students and help teach them the value of teamwork,
planning and persistence while they develop their talents as they
produce videos that allow us to see the world through their eyes."
For more information on the Panasonic Kid Witness News program
please visit http://www.panasonic.com/kwn. Information about
the Panasonic Global Kid Witness News Awards program is available
by visiting www.panasonic.net/kwn.
About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Currently based in Secaucus,
NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North
America provides a broad line of digital and other
electronics products for consumer, business and industrial
use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary
of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic
Corporation (NYSE: PC), and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding,
marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic
is pledged to practice prudent, sustainable use of the earth's
natural resources and protect our environment through the company's
Eco Ideas programs.
Information about Panasonic Eco Ideas initiatives is available
at http://panasonic.net/eco/ecoideas/. Information about Panasonic
and its products is available at www.panasonic.com and its Full HD
3D site at www.panasonic.com/3D. Additional company
information for journalists including this press release and a
rendering of the new building is also available at
www.panasonic.com/pressroom.
Kid
Witness News
|
2012 US
Best Video of the Year Award
|
|
"Fuhgeddaboutit"
Val Verde High School
Perris, California
|
|
|
2012 New
Vision Awards
|
|
"Fuhgeddaboutit"
Val Verde
High School
Perris,
California
|
"Behind
the Beauty"
Maui High
School
Kahului,
Hawaii
|
|
|
"A Devil's
Bargain"
Vista
Academy High School
Denver,
Colorado
|
"Leave
Only Footprints"
Vista
Academy of Visual and Performing Arts
Vista,
California
|
SOURCE Panasonic