01
Understand
Develop a deeper understanding of the patterns, behaviours, emotions, and dynamics that influence relationships.
An independent cultural & social initiative
Understanding how we connect.
Exploring Human Connection & Relationships
Relations Next is a global social, cultural, and educational initiative dedicated to exploring human relationships, intimacy, sexuality, and connection.
Through online and in-person gatherings, expert perspectives, and interdisciplinary content, the initiative aims to bring people together to exchange ideas, question assumptions, and explore different ways of understanding and experiencing relationships.
Explore ideas · Question assumptions · Connect
THE IDEADifferent perspectives.
Deeper understanding.↗
Deeper understanding.↗
A wider view of human connection / 001
Psychology✳Sociology✳Anthropology✳Research✳History✳Culture✳Sexuality✳Art
01 / OUR IDEA
Understanding how we connect.
Human relationships are among the most significant aspects of our lives — and among the most complex.
How we form relationships, experience intimacy, understand love, navigate conflict, express sexuality, create families, and develop a sense of belonging is influenced by far more than individual choice.
Our experiences are shaped by psychology and biology, but also by history, culture, social structures, religion, technology, family, and the ideas we inherit about how relationships are supposed to work.
Relations Next creates a space to examine these influences with greater depth, curiosity, and openness.
BEYOND THE FAMILIAR
Questioning the script.
We all inherit ideas about relationships. Ideas about love, family, friendship, gender, commitment, intimacy, sexuality, and what a meaningful life should look like.
Some come from our families. Others from culture, religion, institutions, media, history, or social expectations.
Relations Next examines these ideas rather than taking them for granted. Our purpose is not to prescribe a particular way of living or relating.
It is to create opportunities for people to encounter knowledge, consider different perspectives, question assumptions, and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others.
WHAT GUIDES US
Exploring human relationships through open dialogue.
Relationships are shaped by a complex combination of emotions, behaviours, experiences, expectations, social influences, and personal choices. We bring these dimensions together through four complementary areas.
02
Navigate
Explore knowledge, perspectives, and practical tools relevant to the situations and challenges people experience within relationships.
03
Question
Examine the assumptions, expectations, and cultural scripts that shape how we think about love, commitment, intimacy, gender, and partnership.
04
Connect
Create opportunities to learn from experts, exchange perspectives, and engage with others through conversations, workshops, and shared experiences.
EXPLORE THE SUBJECT
What We Explore.
From personal experiences to cultural expectations, we consider the many dimensions that shape human connection.
01
Love & Partnership
Love, compatibility, expectations, partnership, emotional connection, and building a life together.
02
Communication & Understanding
How we express ourselves, listen, misunderstand, and reconnect.
03
Intimacy & Vulnerability
Closeness, openness, trust, emotional safety, being seen, and the different forms intimacy can take.
04
Sexuality & Intimacy
Sexual communication, desire, sexual wellbeing, pleasure, fantasy, changing needs, and sexuality within relationships.
05
Boundaries, Consent & Autonomy
Privacy, independence, consent, personal limits, negotiation, and the balance between closeness and freedom.
06
Relationship Structures
Monogamy, non-monogamy, marriage, cohabitation, living apart, and different ways of structuring relationships.
07
Trust, Attachment & Security
Jealousy, reassurance, dependency, betrayal, fear of loss, and what makes connection feel secure.
08
Culture, Gender & Expectations
Family, gender roles, religion, media, social norms, money, status, and the expectations that influence how we connect.
09
Identity, Body & Self
Identity, body image, beauty, authenticity, shame, touch, self-worth, and how our relationship with ourselves affects our relationships with others.
10
Conflict, Change & Endings
Changing feelings, uncertainty, separation, reconnection, breakups, transition, letting go, and new beginnings.
Human connection, in all its complexity.
HOW WE EXPLORE
An interdisciplinary approach.
Understanding relationships requires more than one perspective. Relations Next brings different disciplines, traditions of thought, research, and lived experience into conversation — allowing complex questions to be explored from multiple angles.
01
Psychology & Behaviour
Emotion, attachment, communication, identity, behavioural patterns, and relationship dynamics.
02
Research & Science
Evidence on attraction, bonding, relationships, sexuality, wellbeing, and interpersonal behaviour.
03
Sociology & Anthropology
How societies, communities, social structures, and cultural practices shape the way people relate.
04
History
How ideas about love, partnership, marriage, gender, intimacy, and sexuality have changed over time.
05
Culture, Art & Media
How social norms, film, literature, visual culture, media, and shared narratives shape what we expect from relationships.
06
Philosophy & Ethics
Questions of love, freedom, responsibility, commitment, autonomy, intimacy, morality, and what we owe one another.
07
Religion & Spiritual Traditions
How religious and spiritual traditions understand love, sexuality, partnership, marriage, commitment, and human relationships.
08
Sexuality & the Body
Desire, attraction, embodiment, physical intimacy, sexual wellbeing, and the relationship between body and connection.
09
Lived Experience
How relationships are actually experienced by different people, across different identities, backgrounds, cultures, and ways of relating.
“Different perspectives allow us to ask better questions.”
WHY IT MATTERS
What you can take away.
Ideas, conversations, and perspectives that can help you think more deeply about relationships, intimacy, and connection.
01
Understand yourself more clearly
Recognise the psychological, social, cultural, and personal forces that shape the way you connect, communicate, desire, trust, and relate.
02
See relationships from more than one perspective
Move beyond familiar assumptions by encountering research, ideas, cultures, and experiences different from your own.
03
Find better language for complex experiences
Find clearer ways to talk about things like intimacy, attraction, trust, boundaries, desire, and belonging.
04
Have more meaningful conversations
Use the questions and ideas from Relations Next to have deeper and more thoughtful conversations with others.
05
Make more conscious choices
Hear from people with different backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking.
06
Connect with people who share your interests
Meet people who are also interested in relationships, intimacy, communication, and human connection.
See more. Understand more. Have better conversations about the ways we connect.
CONTENT & EXPERIENCESExplore ideas.
Explore ideas.
Join conversations.
Relations Next lives in the exchange between ideas and experiences, online and in person. Here are the formats we are developing.
01 / CONTENTEditorial direction
Ideas to explore.
Original content exploring relationships, intimacy, communication, and human connection from different perspectives.
- Essays & ArticlesLong-form ideas, reflections, and explorations.
- Conversations & InterviewsDiscussions with specialists, thinkers, creators, and different voices.
- Research NotesAccessible explorations of research and ideas.
- Stories & PerspectivesPersonal, cultural, and lived perspectives on connection.
- Watch & ListenVideo, audio, and recorded conversations.
02 / EXPERIENCESIn development
People to connect.
In-person and live experiences designed to bring people together to explore human connection through conversation, reflection, and participation.
- Talks & PanelsConversations with specialists, thinkers, and people from different fields.
- Salons & Discussion CirclesFacilitated conversations around a question, theme, or perspective.
- Workshops & LabsInteractive experiences exploring communication, intimacy, boundaries, and relational dynamics.
- Screenings & Cultural EventsFilm, books, art, and culture used as starting points for conversation.
- Story Nights & Community EventsShared experiences centred around different voices and lived experiences.
CONVERSATIONS WITHOUT BORDERS
Online & around the world.
Meet people. Exchange perspectives. Connect.
Our vision is to bring people together through online conversations that cross borders, and through in-person gatherings that bring those conversations into cities around the world.
Online, people can join from wherever they are. In person, the same curiosity can become face-to-face conversation, shared experiences, and new connections.
Wherever you are, you’re welcome to be part of the conversation.
Follow the journey ↗Our first sessions are being developed. No dates have been announced yet.
IN CONVERSATION
Questions worth exploring.
A selection of themes and questions around human connection. Each one an invitation to think, listen and see differently.
What makes a relationship meaningful?
Beyond prescribed rules and familiar labels.
Can we be close and still be ourselves?
Intimacy, individuality and autonomy.
How does culture shape intimacy?
The expectations we inherit.
Is commitment always exclusivity?
Different agreements and ways of relating.
What does belonging really mean?
Family, friendship and chosen communities.
Do we confuse intensity with depth?
Emotion, understanding and connection.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO BE CURIOUS
For anyone curious about human connection.
You don’t need to be in a relationship.
You don’t need to be an expert.
You don’t need to arrive with a particular point of view.
Relations Next is for people who want to understand relationships, intimacy, communication, and human connection with more curiosity and fewer assumptions.
Bring your perspective. Leave room for someone else’s.
BE PART OF RELATIONS NEXT
The conversation starts with people.
Join the conversation.
Take part in future online conversations and in-person gatherings that bring together different people, experiences, and perspectives around human connection.
Come to listen, share your perspective, meet people, and be part of the discussion.
Stay connected on Instagram ↗Let’s create something together.
We’re open to collaborating with people, venues, organisations, creators, and communities who share an interest in human connection and meaningful conversation.
Partner with us on conversations, gatherings, content, creative projects, or new ways of bringing people together.
Get in touch on Instagram ↗