At the KWN Awards Ceremony on Thursday 3 May 2012, held in Redditch, the Knox KWN Team celebrated outstanding success with the presentation of the UK Grand Prix Award for their thought-provoking film on Knife Crime. This award is given for the film that demonstrates the best overall performance across all the judging categories in the Panasonic competition.
The Knox Team have now been invited to attend the Global Awards Ceremony in London after winning the UK Grand Prix. They will participate in Winners’ Week being held from 7-10 August competing with other schools from across the Globe. Needless to say, the team (J Calder-Petrie, B Cole, O McHugh, E Munro, R Taylor, S Uddin, A Waddell and C Wright) are very excited and delighted about winning this prestigious award.
Their thought-provoking and moving film concerns Knife Crime and highlights its devastating effects on lives - both on victims, perpetrators and families. The main message being communicated is that despite Knife Crime being illegal it is a more common problem than some might think and that its effects can shatter lives and leave scars deeper than the skin.
The team visited St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to interview Kenny MacAskill MSP, the Justice Secretary for Scotland to hear his views on Knife Crime and its effect on society. While their Case Study focused on Rev Cameron McKenzie and his own personal life experience of how Knife Crime has affected both himself and his family. Various vox-pops are used throughout the documentary communicating general public opinion on Knife Crime.
The KWN programme demonstrates the values of a Curriculum for Excellence (Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens, Effective Contributors). Reflecting while waiting at the airport for the return flight some comments from the team about the KWN experience thus far can be viewed below:
“It has been an excellent experience and I would encourage others to participate next year – the programme teaches life skills and the value of teamwork” CW
“In shock” and “Tears of Joy” RT
“It has been incredible fun, working as a team, growing in confidence, and meeting new people across the programme, with a real sense of achievement” JCP
“I’ve learnt a lot, and appreciate watching films more. It has been really good fun, with great moments of laughter” BC
“We’ve learnt to talk to each other properly, respecting each others ideas even after arguments!” OMH
“Excited about London” AW
“Team development has been important, we’ve learned to communicate effectively and not shout over others. Our friendship bond is closer, with a real sense of achievement. We’ve worked independently, had some challenges, but importantly met our deadlines” SU
“I’m ‘buzzin’ about winning the UK Grand Prix. The programme really opens up the different aspects of filmmaking. You begin to appreciate what goes on ‘at the bottom of the iceberg’ – the preparation and behind the scenes work never seen by others” EM
If you haven’t already viewed their documentary – it is available here.
Background to the Panasonic KWN programme
As a hands-on video education programme, KWN provides excitement and learning experiences to schools encouraging students to develop valuable cognitive, communication and organisational skills. Panasonic first developed the program in the United States in 1989 with a global expansion in 2003. There are currently over 500 schools in 21 countries participating in the program and more than 80,000 children have experienced the fun and challenge of video making.
Participating countries now include the United States, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Poland, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, China and Japan.
This unique programme offers participants the opportunity to develop their interests, abilities and creativity through the production of videos. KWN encourages students to identify issues that are important to them and create a short film as a means of expression. Students then research, write, act in, produce, direct and edit a variety of four-minute videos, which bring to life the subjects they have chosen.
