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Every project supported by Gebert Rüf Stiftung is made accessible with a web presentation that informs about the core data of the project. With this public presentation, the foundation publishes the funding results achieved and contributes to the communication of science to society.

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Design for Dignity: Applying Privacy in Refugee Shelters

Editorial

The project management is responsible for the content of the information provided.

Project data

  • Project no: GRS-005/25 
  • Amount of funding: CHF 25'000 
  • Approved: 10.03.2025 
  • Duration: 07.2025 - 10.2025 
  • Area of activity:  First Ventures, seit 2018

Project management

Project description

Imagine living in a crowded shelter with no personal space - nowhere to retreat, no moment of privacy. This is the reality for many refugees in Switzerland’s Federal Asylum Centers. Lack of privacy creates stress, anxiety, and a deep sense of discomfort in already difficult situations.
Design for Dignity is a simple yet powerful solution: a modular privacy system designed for shared living environments. Lightweight, adaptable, and easy to install, it creates personal space around beds while maintaining a sense of community. Inspired by how refugees use textiles to create makeshift barriers, this system offers a practical, dignified, and scalable alternative.
With Design for Dignity, we’re not just creating a product - we’re restoring a basic human need. Because privacy is not a privilege, it’s a right.

Status/Results

The planned steps for the start of the project are to create prototypes in iterative process and to test it together with partner companies in order to refine the privacy system to meet user needs and requirements for durability, sound absorption, light weight and modular construction.

Links

Persons involved in the project

Violetta Dyka, Project Lead
Catalina Jossen Cardozo, Project Mentor
Andrii Taran, Marketing and Communication

Last update to this project presentation  08.05.2025