About us

Who are we?

SILLAT is an association under the 1901 law, resulting from the merger between the Union of Exiled Students and the association Réfugiés Enseignement Supérieur in Lyon. The two associations have worked for years to create equitable access to higher education for exiled people.

The name ‘SILLAT’, meaning ‘bridges’, ‘links’ or ‘strength’ in different languages, perfectly embodies our mission: to build bridges between exiled students and the French higher education system, as well as between exiled students, French and international.

Thanks to the innovative projects that the association was able to set up, Sillat was the winner of the Fondation La France s’engage competition in 2022.

Our objectives:

Sillat works for education as a powerful lever for equity, equal opportunities, inclusion and integration. Our actions are part of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including: SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).

Sillat aims to reduce the obstacles that hinder access to higher education for people in exile in France, while promoting their academic, economic and social integration in the long term. We attach particular importance to the Independence of our beneficiaries, not only to support their academic success, but also to strengthen their self-confidence and autonomy so that they can meet the challenges of the professional world with confidence.

The major challenges of access to higher education for exiles in France:

Exiled people face a path strewn with obstacles, marked by a lack of identification of needs, a lack of census and information on their rights and possibilities, insufficient linguistic offers, inadequate support, precarious living conditions, discouraging systems, administrative mistreatment, and specific barriers for women, particularly related to gender and access to networks.

Our Team

Paris

Rudi Osman

Co-director

Dunia Al Dahan

Co-director

Juliet Meere

Project Manager

Lisa Doumenjou

Responsible for duty hours

Solana

Support Officer

Hossnia Mohsini

Support Officer

Omran Al Attar

Visual communication manager

Lille

Leila Zougary

Regional Director Hauts-de-France

Valentine Fourcade

Support Officer

Lyon

Rita Katoola

Regional Director Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Olwen Wallace

Project Manager