The current issue of The Corporate Philanthropist, published by the influential Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), focuses on corporate philanthropy and aging and features a cover story written by ILC-USA's president Dr. Robert Butler.

In the article, Dr. Butler reminds executives of the tremendous impact corporate America has had on the growth of life expectancy and challenges corporate America to play a vital role in improving the lives of older adults and future generations as they age.

The ILC-USA commends the CECP for bring much needed attention to this much ignored topic and is grateful to all of the Committee's corporate members and supporters for their important work.

Supported by a grant from electronics giant Philips, the ILC-USA will conduct a two-part series of consensus conferences exploring how technology can help older people maintain their independence. Experts will envision a future in which older people are able to maintain and enhance their quality of life while living independently to older ages.

Overall the conference series will focus on understanding how technology is already applied in the home and what technologies are available today, but not used to specifically address the needs of older people. The conferences will be held in 2008 at the ILC-USA headquarters in New York City.

Applications are now being accepted for the ILC-USA's 9th Annual Age Boom Academy, to be held at our headquarters in New York City June 1-6. 2008. The Academy is an intensive week-long seminar designed to deepen journalists' understanding of how the aging of the world's population is affecting politics, the economy, and just about every other aspect of their beats.

Gearing up for the presidential elections, the 2008 program will be themed "Politics of Aging and Longevity." Special emphasis will be placed on the discussion of timely public policy concerns such as Social Security, Medicare, the older voter, health care reform, human rights and more.

Confirmed presenters include Richard Leone, Ph.D., President of The Century Foundation, Don Hewitt, a former executive producer of 60 Minutes/CBS News, Daniel Perry, Executive Director of the Alliance for Aging Research, and Trudy Lieberman, Director of Health & Medical Reporting at City University of New York.

Though early application is encouraged, applications will be accepted until April 15, 2008.

Are you training in-home caregivers or are you aware of an organization that is? With the generous support of the UniHealth Foundation, the ILC-USA's Caregiving Project for Older Americans is in the process of conducting a comprehensive review of caregiver curricula and training programs throughout the United States.

The findings from our survey will be used to highlight the importance of educating and training paid in-home caregivers, as well as improving understanding of best practices and opportunities for standardization.

The ILC-USA is seeking programs that train paid caregivers to provide in-home care of older adults. Programs that also train people to work in institutional settings, or to care for younger disabled persons, are eligible for the review as long as training for in-home care of older persons also is provided. If you, or an organization you know, is conducting such training please take 5 minutes to conduct our brief survey. We appreciate your help!