In this new chapter of Proyecto Co, Ana Amrein Esnaola speaks with David Jay, a pioneer in using relationships as tools for healing and social change. Founder of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) and author of Relationality: How Moving from Transactional to Transformational Relationships Can Reshape Our Lonely World, David discusses how his personal journey—one that didn’t align with traditional models of intimacy—led him to rethink relational dynamics and build a global community for asexual people.

Throughout the episode, he highlights the concept of “relationality”: how relationships can transform us, why it’s vital to invest in creating and nurturing genuine bonds, and how these bonds positively affect mental health, creativity, and social transformation.

David also explains how to measure the impact of interpersonal connections through indicators like connection, care, creativity, collective action, and generative conflict. For him, these five dimensions determine a community’s strength and its potential to spark systemic changes, from the personal sphere to the social and political. This episode invites us to value intentionality in our relationships and discover how co-creation can pave the way to a more human and sustainable future.

You will listen to:

• 00:00 – Introduction to Proyecto Co and opening remarks.
• 01:40 – Introducing David Jay: his background, AVEN, and his book Relationality.
• 03:36 – The transformative power of relationships and “relationality.”
• 07:27 – Intentionality and the evolution of genuine bonds.
• 12:24 – Challenges of creating relational spaces in a transactional world.
• 19:16 – David’s personal story: building a global asexual community.
• 27:53 – Measuring relational impact: five key indicators (connection, care, creativity, collective action, generative conflict).
• 33:25 – Final reflections and takeaways: investing in meaningful bonds for systemic change.

A big shout-out to the Wasan community for bringing us together—especially Meg Busse and Rachel Sinha, facilitators of the “Making the Case for Relationality” huddle. We appreciate your role in fostering this conversation.

Thank you for tuning in!

By sharing this episode and letting others know what inspired you, you help expand the community of co-creators building a more compassionate world. Dive deeper into our work at efectocolibri.com and join us in sparking the collective change we all envision. We value your voice—together, we can empower social innovation.