Mundingburra State School won the Regional, National Primary School and Queensland Primary School awards for its film, The Global Warming Rap, which sees three penguins, answer crucial questions about global warming. The students were also recognised for their technical excellence, taking home two National Spotlight Awards in the Special FX and Editing categories.

As the Regional Award winner, Mundingburra State School will represent Australia at the Asia Pacific KWN Regional Awards which will be held in Singapore. Two students and one teacher will be invited to attend the gala event, scheduled to take place from the 7th to the 10th of December 2009.

Lithgow High School was awarded the National Secondary School Award and New South Wales Secondary School Award for the film Wind Girl, which follows a local wind farmer and his daughter Alex. Alex and her father show the audience the importance of wind energy and how they are making sure we have a sustainable world for the future

Toni Pearen, KWN Ambassador and competition judge, said she was amazed by the quality of this year's video entries.

"Again the KWN teams continue to amaze the judging panel and myself. Each entry is unique, both in topic and production, which proves the creativity and dedication our students have today. Congratulations to all of the winning teams," Toni said.

Panasonic Managing Director, Steve Rust said, "Mundingburra State School and Lithgow High School should be congratulated for their impressive submissions. Each year I enjoy the creative spirit demonstrated in the videos and I can't wait to see what comes through next year."

The KWN program encourages students to work cooperatively with their peers and apply a variety of skills to communicate with others. It challenges students to work together to develop a five minute video, involving all aspects of film-making including determining the subject matter, script writing, and filming as well as editing footage using equipment provided by Panasonic.

A recent survey of Australian teachers completed by Panasonic, found that 66 per cent of teachers believed technology had a positive effect on peer cooperation. Creativity is also stimulated by the use of technology with 83 per cent of teachers agreeing that it encourages students to think outside of the box.

Entry categories include: drama, documentary, health, science and technology, news and current affairs, public service announcement, comedy, sport, art, music, animation, and entertainment.

The films were judged by a panel including industry experts Toni Pearen, Camille Hardman, Jane St. Vincent Welch, Paul Fishlock, Jack McCoy and Steve Rust who critiqued the films, looking at the quality of script writing, sound, videography, special effects and editing.

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