On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, a training seminar was held for the researchers who will participate in Rhizo-eduscapes’ field research. The aim of this meeting was the research team’s familiarization with the project’s framework and the research stages and tools that focus on investigating and enhancing the educational experience an unaccompanied minor can have in hospitality facilities.

Ten members of the research team participated in this hybrid meeting: 5 in person in Room C1 (3rd floor, 37 Glavani Street, Volos, University of Thessaly) and 5 remotely via Zoom.

The Scientific Coordinator of the project, R. Kitsiou, presented the research phases, which are structured in two phases: the first is ongoing and refers to observation and collection of data from inside the facilities, with participatory observation being the main research tool; the second one, scheduled for the next academic year, includes educational interventions such as linguistic landscape walks, language cafes, and arts-based activities, with simultaneous data collection.

The four axes of the research approach were then discussed in detail, corresponding to the respective research questions: social-spatial, sociolinguistic, literacy, and socio-political axes. Methodologically, the team draws on linguistic ethnography, the geographies of education, and reflective ethnography, while rhizomatic cartography will be used in the analysis stage.

During the meeting, emphasis was placed on training researchers in interview techniques without leading or evaluative questions, as well as on how important it is to reflectively record stuff before, during, and after field visits. At the same time, the launch of a systematic mapping of unaccompanied minors’ structures in Athens was announced, as well as the planning of a workshop on ethical issues next month (November 2025).