CARU welcomed the opportunity to participate in an important workshop held by the Federal Trade Commission in Washington D.C. concerning children's advertising literacy. The FTC is undertaking an initiative to provide children and tweens with information that will educate and empower them in order to better understand commercial messages. Speakers included marketing researchers, respected academics, and media literacy experts from the Center for Media Literacy and Media Awareness Network. CARU's own Director, Wayne Keeley shared his views that CARU's Self Regulatory Program for Children's Advertising , (the Guidelines ) provide a strong basis for an advertising literacy program. The workshop proved an excellent forum for sharing ideas and gaining awareness in the field.

We are pleased to announce that we will be having our 2nd Annual Conference this year on October 7, 2009 . Please save the date! Details to follow.

On February 26, 2009 CARU (Phyllis Spaeth), NAD (Andrea Levine and David Mallen), and ERSP (Peter Marinello) hosted a meeting with several delegates from China's Advertising Association. Language was not a barrier because the delegation brought along an excellent interpreter. All parties gained insight into what the other does and all came to find that what we do is not all that different, even thousands of miles apart. We were even invited to come to CAA’s annual conference in Beijing . It was a pleasure having them and we hope to meet again in the future.