ABSTRACT
This chapter contains the keynote which began with asking several questions about what the field of HRD, globally, might look like in five years (of course, this timeframe has now passed). This was followed with discussion about the ongoing process of exploring the definition of HRD and the factors, globally, that seem to influence how it is defined differentially in different parts of the globe. A process was then outlined for how one might approach answering the questions related to a future of HRD. A future search conference held sponsored by AHRD and ASTD, with the intent of describing HRD in 2005, was described and critiqued. Finally, some guesses were offered about the “future” (now the past) in the following areas: Organizational Leader-ship; Public Responsibility and Citizenship; Work Systems; Employee Education, Training, and Development and; Employee Well-being and Satisfaction. Trying to foretell the future is always a dangerous game, especially when revisiting it 2–3 years after that future was to have happened. This keynote began a number of keynote explorations in which the “predictions” have been updated and trends explored.
