Christiana Figueres

Nations United is a special, first of its kind film, created by the United Nations on its 75th Anniversary and to mark five years since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. In the midst of a pandemic radically transforming our world, Nations United tells the story of the world as it is, as it was, and as it could be. It focuses on the solutions and action we need to tackle poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change.

Over 65 years ago, when Costa Rica became the largest nation in the world to disband their military, they redirected national resources towards public education and universal health care, fostering a wide middle class and a society committed to inclusion. Since then, Costa Rica has earned the number one spot in the Happy Planet Index, a ranking of countries based on measures of environmental protection and the happiness and health of its citizens. This documentary brings attention to Costa Rica's inspirational national project, examining the true value of happiness, health, and nonviolence as a defense policy. Pointed contrasts are made with recent U.S. debates over austerity, the military industrial complex and the "permanent war" economy.

Conceived in lockdown, and totally crowdsourced, the film is made from voice notes sent in from a variety of the most trusted humans on the planet, and the pictures are made from thousands of donated images sent in from citizens on every continent.

The big names behind the big stories. Laura Kuenssberg talks to those making the news, inside and outside politics.