Mrs. Bordalo, Mrs. Moscoso, in a commentary for the Journal Science Communication you are presenting a fourth, relational model of science communication that complements the deficit, dialogue and participative models. Why do you think that’s necessary?

Bordalo: In order to tackle inequalities, we realised that the three models were insufficient to make science accessible to those who do not already have access to it. The science communication community already understood that simply sharing information was not an effective way of achieving other goals besides acquiring knowledge. At first, we, science communicators, understood that we need to establish a dialogue with people. Then we also realised that people could participate in science. And, finally, now, we take it a step further: We saw that existing models and approaches were effective for certain audiences, but not enough to reach underserved groups. This does not mean that we are replacing the three existing models, as they can be useful in different contexts. Each model has its own purpose and can be used to achieve different goals. In the paper, we demonstrate that our approach is effective in reaching people who do not feel yet that they belong in science, and who think, ’science is not for me.‘

Moscoso: I’m sure there are lots of projects that already understand the power of relationships. By giving it a model and calling it a name, we’re trying to make that more visible. We really hope that this new model and approach can help us to reduce inequalities, so that more people feel that science is for them and that they can belong to science.

What is the core of your relational science communication model?

Moscoso: Basically, it stemmed from the idea that science could be meaningful, particularly for children, who are the target audience of the Native Scientists programmes. We realised that simply providing access to scientific information was not enough; it is also important to make audiences feel that they can belong to the scientific community if they wish. We thought that connecting them with people from the same background and with similar experiences could achieve this, as the audience would feel more connected to the person sharing science with them. Both the science communicator and the audience participate in this process. They engage in a dialogue that creates meaning for both of them during the sessions. They co-construct meaning.

Bordalo: First and foremost people need access to information. If you live on a remote island, for example, accessing science will be challenging due to geographical reasons. However, living in a neighbourhood in a capital city doesn’t necessarily mean that you will visit a science centre or feel that university is for you, because your social context may not provide you with the necessary empowerment. There is an additional layer to consider. And this is an example of the importance of belonging: you may be able to take a bus to a science centre, but if you don’t feel that it belongs to you or that you belong there, you won’t take the bus to go there.

Your model draws on the experience you have gained from programs that you run with Native Scientists. What are their objectives?

Moscoso: We have two programmes. One of them that connects children and scientists from the same migrant community, the Same Migrant Community programme. Scientists living abroad can go to schools in the place they live and engage with children who have the same migrant history. In the Same Home Town programme, we take scientists back to their own primary school. Giving back to your community allows you to take advantage of your knowledge of it. You can relate to the community, and therefore create a meaningful connection with it more easily.

Bordalo: The audience can easily identify with the scientist, as they share a common background, and thus may feel connected. This person can open a door or serve as role model for science to children.

What does it mean to build meaningful relationships in science communication?

Moscoso: When our scientists visit a school, they often start by showing the children a picture of themselves at the same age, in the same school and sometimes even in the same classroom. This is an incredible icebreaker and a ‘wow’ moment. For the children, it is incredible to see that someone like them who attended the same small rural or underprivileged urban school, had the dream of becoming a scientist — and achieved it. It’s very inspiring. We believe this is important, especially since most educational settings focus heavily on teaching content. We need experiences like this to broaden our horizons, open our minds and make us feel empowered and capable.

Bordalo: Another example: One scientist started with the other end of the process and showed the children pictures of his travels and his work as a scientist. Then he asked the children: ‚Where do you think I’m from?‘ They named some very exotic places. Then the scientist said: ‚ I’m actually from this neighbourhood‘, a vulnerable community in Lisbon. The whole class had their mouths open. They couldn’t believe it. This is a good example of what we mean by a sense of belonging. Before interacting with a scientist, one child said: ‚Science is only for a few people.‘ After the encounter, the same child said: If I want, I can be a scientist and would study chemistry.‘

What could science communicators who are working in institutions like museums or universities learn from your relational science communication model?

Bordalo: I would like to inspire other projects to take advantage of human connections instead of focusing on only delivering content to people. Instead of worrying so much about making people know what nuclear fusion or cell biology is, maybe we should show them the human perspective of things. If there is an open day at a university, instead of focusing so much on convincing people that science is amazing, we can ask questions, see what the audience needs and how they can relate more to the content. Maybe this will require a bit more time, creativity and collaboration, but ultimately people will feel more included.

Moscoso: For a museum, it can be important to focus on establishing meaningful relationships with local schools or with local companies. And it’s worth putting some effort into the relationship with the teacher who will come with the children. When we invest in relationships, small and meaningful is beautiful because each one of us can only nurture a small number of relationships effectively. There’s not enough time and resources for more. So, it’s also about the balance between quantity and quality and deciding how deep you want to go into the collaboration.

Three years ago, to mark the association’s tenth anniversary, we interviewed you, Mrs. Moscoso. You said for example that you wanted to continue the process of professionalisation. How has the project Native Scientists developed since then?

Moscoso: Three years ago, we published a randomised controlled trial of our programme with migrant communities. The results showed that migrant children in the intervention group were significantly more motivated to study science than those in the control group. Meanwhile, Native Scientists continued to implement the Same Migrant Community Programme across Europe. We are also conducting a similar study in Portugal, which takes scientists back to their primary schools. During the school year that ended in June 2026, we reached more than 6,000 children. More than half of them met a scientist for the first time. In addition to implementing these two educational programmes, we provide training for scientific institutions in science communication and offer impact evaluation services for other educational projects.

How can scientists join your programmes?

Bordalo: On our website, we have a page where scientists can register their interest in participating. If we have the capacity and funding to implement the programme in a given location and language, then they would be contacted by us. We welcome scientists from all fields of expertise and at any stage in their career. Whether they are working on their master’s thesis or as principal investigators, they are all welcome.

Moscoso: We have been very committed to breaking the stereotype of what a scientist is, even within the scientific community. A linguist, an economist or a historian are also scientists, even though they don’t work in a laboratory. In Germany, we are running at the moment the Same Migrant Community Programme. We engage with scientists from abroad in the cities where they live. We take them to schools to talk to children with a similar migrant background. For example, Portuguese scientists in Berlin meet Portuguese-speaking children in Berlin.