In this heart-opening episode of The Spark Changemakers Podcast, Nikki sits down with Neil Denton - mediator, professor, and co-lead of The Relationships Project - to explore why relationships are not “soft extras,” but the very foundation of healthier, happier, more resilient communities.

Neil shares the vision behind The Relationships Project: embedding relationship-centred practice across schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods, and governments. Together, Nikki and Neil reflect on why relationships are “common sense but not common practice,” how bridges between people can be widened and strengthened, and why the stories we tell each other can either divide us or heal us.

From supermarket queues to disaster recovery, Neil reveals how simple acts of connection ripple outwards - and why the survival of whole communities can hinge on trust and collaboration.

Highlights:

🌱 Why good relationships are both an end in themselves and a means to every goal

🌉 Bridge-building: repairing damaged connections and creating new ones

🧅 The “onion of wisdom” - a simple model for relationship-centred practice

💡 Why young people need relational skills as much as STEM subjects

🌍 The ripple effect of kindness, storytelling, and human connection

Resources:

👉Learn more on the Relationships Project website

👉 Explore The Centre for Creative Conversation

👉 Follow The Relationships Project on X and on BlueSky

In this inspiring conversation, 21-year-old changemaker Sash Jayasinghe shares how a wake-up moment in Sri Lanka sparked a year of intentional action: founding 4Lanka, a social-impact venture to help South Asian young people discover purpose, build confidence, and turn ideas into reality.

Sash recalls bringing Simon Squibb’s Dream Machine to the first comprehensive school in Wales — and watching students light up as a two-minute chat turned vague hopes into real, do-able dreams.

We also explore discipline as self-trust (yes, including marathon lessons!), the power of working smart as well as hard, and why relatable role models matter — “you can’t be what you can’t see.”

Highlights

🎙️The moment Sash chose purpose and service over autopilot.

🎙️Dream Machine in a Welsh school: from “I don’t know” to “here’s my dream.”

🎙️Why creativity, financial literacy, nutrition & purpose belong in the school curriculum.

🎙️Discipline, integrity, and bringing body–mind–spirit to the mission.

🎙️4Lanka’s vision: free programmes, tools and community for South Asian youth.

Connect with Sash:

🚀 Follow 4Lanka and Sash on Instagram: @4lankaofficial and @sash.jm

🚀 Connect with Sash on LinkedIn: Sash Jayasinghe

🚀 Read Simon Squibb’s book and learn about the Dream Machine

In this inspiring conversation, Nikki speaks with Ceri Reed, founder of Parents Voices in Wales, a not‑for‑profit organisation championing the voices of parents, carers and young people with lived experience of neurodiversity and/or poor mental health.

Ceri shares her deeply personal journey into advocacy, the importance of early intervention, and why centring relationships and co‑production is the key to transforming systems. From challenging outdated approaches to education, to embedding therapeutic parenting principles, Ceri offers a blueprint for working collaboratively with policymakers, schools and services — without losing sight of the child at the heart of it all.

Whether you’re a parent, educator, policymaker or changemaker, this episode will leave you with hope, practical insights and a renewed belief that systemic change is possible when we lead with empathy, trust and courage.

Listen to hear about:

💬 Why parent voices matter in shaping policy

💬 Building trust between families, schools & services

💬 Co‑production as a culture shift — not a meeting

💬 The power of therapeutic parenting

Connect with Ceri and Parents Voices in Wales:

• Visit the Parents Voices in Wales website
• Follow Parents Voices in Wales on Facebook and Instagram
• Connect with Ceri on LinkedIn
• Learn more about the NEST framework in Wales