Refugees Emancipation

The Refugees Emancipation Community Center (RECC) is a refugee-led housing and community project in Potsdam. At its core is the idea that refugees themselves own and manage the space in which they live. RECC is therefore not only a community center but also a shared property where refugees can live, organize, and develop their own activities and initiatives.

The project offers an alternative to the common model of state-run asylum accommodations, which often isolate people in large and segregated facilities. Instead, RECC creates a self-organized environment where refugees are not treated as temporary guests but as hosts who shape their own agenda and community life. The center provides space for living, learning, cultural exchange, and collective projects, while also welcoming neighbors, partners, and visitors. In this way, RECC aims to strengthen dignity, participation, and self-determination within refugee communities.