Kerry Synaiti

My name is Synaiti Kerry and I am a graduate of the Department of Language and Intercultural Studies. The starting point of my research journey — while I was still a student — was the creation of our team, “Volos Linguistic Landscape Research Group” in 2021, when we began a journey to answer questions, conduct research, reflect, deconstruct, and redefine. One of our first steps as a team, particularly in the context of non-formal and intercultural education, was our collaboration with a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Volos, where we offered greek language lessons in order to address both the linguistic and other needs of the children. It was a pivotal experience — academically, but even more so personally. Languages, cultures, lived experiences, and a multitude of emotions reshaped my understanding and outlook entirely. That was my first encounter with unaccompanied minors — a beginning I never expected would lead me here. Through my studies, I engaged with the arabic language, which had always fascinated me, and eventually became a common space with the children, as it was their first language. I also experienced this as a researcher/volunteer in the ACTinPRISON project, “Interaction Matters: Research on the development of alternative curricular experiences for young prisoners and prospective teachers”. The young prisoners with whom we carried out educational activities were not all greek-speaking, and their linguistic repertoires varied. In this context, the arabic language became a medium for communication and interaction with the children, allowing us to feel that we were a team. Although I have not studied the concept of “rooting” in depth, for me, this is exactly what it embodies: the relationship that forms between people who do not know each other, who are different, who interact, and in the end, something completely unexpected and unique emerges. Without a beginning or an end, without dependence or external influence.