Dame Marilyn Waring
author of If Women Counted

The real measure of a society is not the number of obscenely wealthy

people and the GDP, but the status of the poorest, weakest, most

vulnerable among us. That's what Ron Colman, Jigme Thinley and the

GNH are about.

Dr. David Suzuki

Scientist, Writer and Broadcaster

What Really Counts is a thought-provoking documentary that challenges

the dominant economic narrative centred around the Gross Domestic

Product (GDP), a statistic often deemed the most important in human

history. The film argues that our global reliance on GDP and its demand

for perpetual economic growth is driving humanity toward devastating outcomes, including war, poverty, extreme climate change, and mass extinctions—potentially even our own.

Through the intertwining stories of Ronald Colman, a visionary political scientist from Canada, and Jigme Y Thinley, the former Prime Minister of Bhutan, the documentary explores alternative models that prioritise human well-being over mere economic output. Colman has spent decades developing the Genuine Progress Index (GPI) in Nova Scotia, a metric that assesses the real quality of life, while Thinley has championed Gross National Happiness (GNH), a philosophy that guides Bhutan’s development and measures prosperity through holistic and sustainable approaches.
The film takes viewers on a global journey, from the bustling cities of the West to the serene landscapes of the Himalayan Kingdom, revealing the tireless efforts of Colman and Thinley as they collaborate across local communities, sovereign states, and international platforms like the United Nations. Their mission is to shift the world's focus from relentless economic growth to a more balanced, sustainable approach that truly reflects what counts in life.

What Really Counts is a compelling call to revaluate the metrics by which

we measure progress, urging a return to common sense and a focus on sustainability for the future of our planet.