Hundreds of children meet scientists for the first time thanks to the power of partnerships

Native Scientists' work is only possible thanks to the help and support of our partners. The success of the Same Home Town programme in the past school year is an example of this.

Native Scientists is a not-for-profit organisation whose work is mainly sustained by external funding. The Same Home Town (SHT) is one of the two main Native programmes aiming to bring scientists back to their hometown to expose children to role models from the same community. The programme is implemented in Portugal, focusing on remote areas and islands or children from underserved communities. Thanks to our partnerships, the SHT programme brings scientists where there was no other way to sponsor the programme- either because of their remote location or local funding issues. 

In the school year 2023/2024, SHT brought 18 scientists (out of 60 in total) back to their childhood school to deliver 36 workshops to over 700 children - most from underserved areas. The work was possible thanks to the help and support of several partners like Critical Software, Fundação Belmiro Azevedo, Fundação la Caixa, Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento, Grupo Bensaúde, Paulo Marques, Universidade de Coimbra. Our partners not only support our work, but they also share Native's visions to build a more egalitarian society, promoting the well-being of the most disadvantaged communities and nurturing the citizens of the future.   

“It has been incredible to work closely with our partners and witness their commitment to working with us and helping us reach the children most in need. We hope that, with their support, we ignite the will and ambition of more Municipalities to join us and support and welcome the programme in future years so that we can ensure a prolonged impact in all communities,” says Joana Bordalo, Operations Lead at Native Scientists and Co-founder of the SHT Programme.

As the school year ends, we want to send a big thanks from the whole Native family to our partners. We are now busy tightening existing partnerships and looking for new ones to ensure a future where every child can express their full potential regardless of their background. SHT's goal for the 2024/2025 school year is to reach all the islands of the Azores' archipelago and beyond and double the amount of workshops implemented nationwide.

If you are interested in partnering with Native Scientists, please contact Joana Bordalo.