The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) was established in 1945, shortly after World War I. Peace was a key concern. As part of the human right to education, adults and their education and learning needs have received greater attention and recognition through a number of international conferences and recommendations. UNESCO has also initiated global reports on the development of education, looking through the lens of lifelong learning as a new paradigm. This perspective could also be applied when the Sustainable Development Goals were agreed upon by the United Nations. The article follows some important milestones during those 80 years, especially with a more detailed view of the UNESCO Global Network on Learning Cities.