Making a difference
Brothers, Ottavio and Dario Tanzillo, are two Loughborough graduates finding ways to inspire others.
Studying a social sciences subject is a great stepping-stone for those interested in broadening their career horizons and making a positive impact on the world. A brilliant example of students looking to make societal impact are brothers Ottavio and Dario Tanzillo who demonstrate the amazing things that can be achieved when you are given the opportunity to combine your studies with your own passion and set off on exciting ventures.
Studying at Loughborough University was always in the plan for Ottavio and Dario. Growing up, both brothers spent a lot of time in the swimming pool and competed at national level. Their love for sport played a significant part in their decision to attend Loughborough. However, after arriving, they discovered that there was so much more to discover. Studying Sociology has equipped them with a deeper understanding about society and has provided them with the confidence to be able to contribute and make a true difference.
We both wanted to study Sociology to delve deeper into the functions of society and develop our passion of helping others. Our experience has been incredible, the lecturers went above and beyond to help us. Having lecturers who specialise in different fields of research really allowed us to capture a deep insight into different topics.
Tanzii TV
During the 2021 lockdown, whist the brothers were working as support workers in local primary schools, they were exposed to the damaging impact of lockdown on children's physical wellbeing and mental health. Ottavio and Dario took initiative and set-up their children’s YouTube channel, Tanzii TV with the aim to connect with thousands of young children and inject fun into exercise and movement world-wide.
Following the pandemic, they established themselves as a social enterprise with the purpose of boosting activity levels and wellbeing amongst the younger population by connecting with local communities. In a short amount of time, Ottavio and Dario had already engaged with over 127,000 children and young people and collaborated with lots of different organisations and charities such as Living Sport, Leicester Healthy Schools Network, and Centre33. More recently they teamed up with ukactive and Nike as part of their Open Doors Programme.
Studying Sociology has equipped us with a deeper understanding about society, setting us onto the right track to be able to contribute and make a true difference to society. This has helped with our current roles as Co-Directors and Founders of Tanzii TV by developing our research skills and exploring and analysing ways to make a difference.
Innovating at Loughborough
Ottavio and Dario’s journey towards making a difference continued at Loughborough after graduation.
To continue our mission, we have joined the Studio programme at Loughborough University to develop key partnerships and benefit from the delivery of the programme, allowing us to become better equipped to make a true difference.
The Studio provides access to the resources, facilities, expertise, and knowledge to help Loughborough graduates develop new, innovative, and sustainable businesses. The Studio brings together the University’s academic and graduate entrepreneurs with founders from across the region and beyond to create a rich, vibrant, and supportive start-up community.
Being situated at Loughborough University now means that we can branch out into local communities and beyond to make even more of a difference.
Award winners
Recently, Ottavio and Dario’s work was recognised as they were announced winners of the Innovation in Education award at the LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards 2022, as well as being nominated finalists in the Innovation in Health and Wellbeing and University Student Innovation categories. The award was a fantastic acknowledgement of Ottavio and Dario's work inspiring and encouraging children to stay active, and helping to boost activity levels and wellbeing by connecting with communities. To date they have engaged over 630,000 children and young people.
We are both delighted to have won this prestigious award! Our brain break videos are a perfect way to improve children’s physical and mental wellbeing whilst having lots of FUN. Our mission is to make mindfulness and movement an essential part of the day and knowing our delivery is making a positive change to our society means the world.
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