The importance of adult learning to human resource development (HRD) professional practice was demonstrated at the Academy of Human Resource Development's (AHRD) 2003 Town Forum, which is the opening event at the annual AHRD International Conference, where issues important to the field are debated. The forum often initiates the dialogue and activates the energy needed to move or establish a frontier in the HRD field. During the 2003 Town Forum, entitled "Adult Education and HRD: The Individual, the forum Organization, the Community," three debaters sparked many AHRD members' interest in the topic of adult education as they differentiated their positions.