Oct 5, 2026 · 21 min · 14 segments
She was 10 years old when she saw a problem, and her mum helped her build the solution. To open our Black History Month series, I sit down with **Avye Couloute and Hélène Virolan,** the…
So representation matters so much, um, especially to me now that I'm definitely older and very conscious that these young girls that are coming, it's so important to see someone like them, and I'm really happy to be that role model, um, for girls and especially, um, young Black girls as well, to see that if I can do it, they can also step into these kind of spaces.
Um, and thinking about the girls who come to our workshops, it also means that seeing someone like them, and specifically kind of what I'm doing, just, like, speaking to everyone, kind of coordinating, they can kind of see a, like, leadership role in the organization, and I think that's also important as well, especially for confidence reasons, not f- ne- not necessarily just for STEM, but being confident in whatever you're doing in life I think is really important because with confidence you're able to achieve whatever you, um, wanna achieve.
[laughs] What about me? Well, for me, representation, uh, shows up differently than it does for Avi.
Um, I'm very aware that Black-led grous- grassroot organization, they often struggle to access funding, and that awareness shapes, uh, how I show up in, in speech and in pitches and funding organizat- um, uh, conversations.
Um, it's made, uh, me determine that Girls into Coding doesn't just create opportunities for girls, uh, in STEM, but shows, uh, what a Black-led organization can build and sustain, uh, because that visibilities matters to not just for the girls, but for the sector that sees us as leaders, basically.
And I was wondering if you'd be able to share with our listeners, because I'm sure they've been listening to us, and they kind of might have an image in their mind, um, but I would love it if you'd be able to share what your heritage is, like what culture you've been brought up in.
I know here in the UK we are immersed in so many different ones, but I'd love to also hear from your point of view.
And, uh, so I've been, uh, in, in, uh, in the UK for many, many, many years now.
Yeah, from a island called Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and we're also, on my dad's side, Jamaican and Saint Lucian as well.
So representation matters so much, um, especially to me now that I'm definitely older and very conscious that these young girls that are coming, it's so important to see someone like them, and I'm really happy to be that role model, um, for girls and especially, um, young Black girls as well, to see that if I can do it, they can also step into these kind of spaces.
Um, and thinking about the girls who come to our workshops, it also means that seeing someone like them, and specifically kind of what I'm doing, just, like, speaking to everyone, kind of coordinating, they can kind of see a, like, leadership role in the organization, and I think that's also important as well, especially for confidence reasons, not f- ne- not necessarily just for STEM, but being confident in whatever you're doing in life I think is really important because with confidence you're able to achieve whatever you, um, wanna achieve.
[laughs] What about me? Well, for me, representation, uh, shows up differently than it does for Avi.
Um, I'm very aware that Black-led grous- grassroot organization, they often struggle to access funding, and that awareness shapes, uh, how I show up in, in speech and in pitches and funding organizat- um, uh, conversations.
Um, it's made, uh, me determine that Girls into Coding doesn't just create opportunities for girls, uh, in STEM, but shows, uh, what a Black-led organization can build and sustain, uh, because that visibilities matters to not just for the girls, but for the sector that sees us as leaders, basically.
And I was wondering if you'd be able to share with our listeners, because I'm sure they've been listening to us, and they kind of might have an image in their mind, um, but I would love it if you'd be able to share what your heritage is, like what culture you've been brought up in.
I know here in the UK we are immersed in so many different ones, but I'd love to also hear from your point of view.
And, uh, so I've been, uh, in, in, uh, in the UK for many, many, many years now.
Yeah, from a island called Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and we're also, on my dad's side, Jamaican and Saint Lucian as well.
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