As global economic and social crises deepened over the last decade, their acknowledgement has influenced adult education and lifelong learning policies by international organisations. The associations between international organisations, the making of adult education policy, and the 'common good' that frame this special issue were one of a few cross-cutting matters of concern, which emerged from insightful discussions held at the international conference: 'Equity, Social Justice and Adult Education and Learning Policy' (8-10 June 2017, Verona, Italy), organised by the Network on Policy Studies in Adult Education (operating within the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults, ESREA). Across a number of parallel and plenary sessions, conference participants explored and debated at length, how far adult education and learning policy support or hamper the conditions for a fair redistribution of resources and the full recognition of rights - given cultural, ethno-racial, linguistic, religious and sexual diversity in society. A selection of contributions first presented at the Verona conference is brought together in this Special Issue.