"We meet today under wholly exceptional conditions, for never in the history of man has such a body assembled for such a purpose," announced Andrew Carnegie. It was 3 PM on February 10, 1914, and he was addressing 29 of America's greatest religious leaders, who were assembled in his living room.
With these bold words, Carnegie launched the Church Peace Union, the organization now known as Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Carnegie always thought big. He expected the group to not only prevent World War I, but to put an end to war forever.
A hundred years on, wars are still with us, but Carnegie Council continues to think big. Just as the organization's founding members sought to include moral values in political decisions worldwide, it is the Council's premise that incorporating ethical concerns into international affairs is essential for more effective policies.
In the spirit of Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Council serves as a nonpartisan, educational resource for international affairs professionals, journalists, educators and students, business people, and the attentive public. And with today's technology and the rise of social media, it has a global outreach that surpasses even Mr. Carnegie's wildest imaginings. Carnegie Council is marking its Centennial with an ambitious project called Ethics for a Connected World. Launched in 2012, this multi-year undertaking links public intellectuals, business leaders, policymakers, religious leaders, educators, and students in the quest for a global ethic—shared values with which to tackle both local and transnational problems. The venture is led by Dr. Michael Ignatieff, a distinguished academic, authority on human rights, and former Canadian political leader.
The work begun during this period will not end with the project. Many of its initiatives—in particular the Global Ethics Network of scholars and students across the world—will grow and flourish well into the future.
