New IPI Documentary Film on Past and Future of International Affairs

As part of its work on advocating and implementing lessons learned from 1814 and 1914 for today, the International Peace Institute, with the support of Canada and Norway, has created a short documentary film entitled “Architects and Sleepwalkers.”

The film recalls that the leaders who met at the Congress in Vienna in 1814, towards the end of the Napoleonic wars, were architects of a new international system, while the leaders of 1914 have famously been described as sleepwalkers, stumbling into war. The film’s narrator, prize-winning historian Margaret MacMillan asks: “What lessons can be learned from these pivotal moments in history to address emerging threats and reduce the risk of future conflicts? And what will future historians say about the leaders of today: were they architects or sleepwalkers?”

The documentary, directed by Walter Kemp and Michael Moon, premiered on August 26 at an high-level symposium co-organized by IPI and the Salzburg Global Seminar at Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria. Under the heading “1814, 1914, 2014: Lessons from the Past, Visions for the Future” international leaders, decision makers, thinkers and experts were convened by IPI to find pathways for a peaceful and resilient international system.

Click here for more information on the conference>>