Meet Mariarosy Calleri: The Vision Behind TTT Academy
Before TTT Academy became a vision for transforming teacher training in Zanzibar, its guiding idea had already taken shape in the life of R.O.S.A.’s Co-Founder and President, Mariarosy Calleri.
For Mariarosy, the belief that education can change lives began with her own experience. From filmmaking and university teaching to founding R.O.S.A. and leading international education programs, her journey has been driven by one conviction: everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and build a better future.
We spoke with Mariarosy about the experiences that shaped her mission, the partnerships that brought ReCoding Africa to life, and how those efforts eventually led to the development of Training Teachers for Tomorrow (TTT) Academy.
A Personal Journey That Inspired a Global Mission
Born in Catania, Sicily, Mariarosy studied Modern Languages and Literature in Milan before receiving a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Media Studies at The New School University in New York.
“That scholarship is the reason I do this work. Someone decided that my talent mattered more than my means, and everything that followed came from that decision”.
That opportunity shaped her belief that education should be a right, not a privilege.
Her professional journey began in filmmaking, where she wrote, directed, and produced documentaries and television programs in New York and Rome. Among her projects was Invisible Super Women, a documentary about female entrepreneurship that was screened in 500 schools across Italy’s Lazio region and showcased at the European Parliament.
She later brought her storytelling experience into university classrooms, teaching Communication, Film, and Media Studies at institutions including Loyola University Chicago’s Rome Center and IES Abroad. Alongside teaching, she co-founded production companies and served as an Ambassador and Mentor for female entrepreneurs in the Lazio Region with the European Commission.
Through these experiences, Mariarosy came to understand how storytelling could connect people, how education could expand their opportunities, and how entrepreneurship could help meaningful ideas become sustainable.
In 2014, she brought these passions together by co-founding R.O.S.A. — Remove Obstacles to Social Awareness. The organization’s mission reflected what she had learned firsthand: people in underserved communities do not need to be rescued. They need the obstacles standing between them and opportunity to be removed.
From Italy to Tanzania: How ReCoding Africa and TTT Academy Began
Over the following years, R.O.S.A. expanded its educational initiatives beyond Italy, connecting volunteers, educators, and communities through international learning programs.
By 2024, Mariarosy and her team were developing ReCoding Africa, an initiative designed to equip young people in Tanzania with digital literacy, creative thinking, and practical skills for the evolving global economy.
On June 20, 2024, Mariarosy met with Ambassador Kombo, who embraced the vision behind ReCoding Africa and recognized its potential to expand educational and economic opportunities for Tanzanian youth. His support helped strengthen the initiative’s momentum ahead of its launch on July 14.
However, Mariarosy and her team soon recognized that reaching students directly was only part of the solution:
“You cannot upgrade students one visit at a time. The multiplier is the teacher, who meets a hundred students a year, every year”.
That realization became the turning point that would eventually lead to TTT Academy.
More Than E-Learning: Teachers Become Course Creators
TTT Academy is a system-integrated e-learning platform created to upskill high school teachers in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Developed by R.O.S.A. with funding from the Cisco Foundation Cash Grant and in partnership with Zanzibar’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, this Tech for Good initiative aims to make teacher professional development more accessible, innovative, and sustainable.
To address the challenges educators face in Zanzibar, TTT Academy is being developed with mobile-friendly, low-bandwidth learning resources, downloadable materials, curriculum-aligned courses, and professional certification.
Most e-learning platforms treat teachers as consumers: enrol, work through a fixed catalogue, collect a certificate, done. TTT Academy is built the other way round. After completing the TTT Curriculum, teachers become certified local trainers and can also publish, turning their own lessons and materials into courses the next cohort will learn from, in their own language and drawn from their own classrooms. That is what powers R.O.S.A.’s Waterfall Impact Strategy: instead of reaching a set number of teachers and stopping, every trained educator becomes a source for the next, and the knowledge cascades outward through schools, districts and islands long after the funding ends.
Rather than relying on external organizations to continuously deliver teacher-training workshops, this approach empowers local educators to become qualified trainers who can pass their knowledge on to colleagues. Each certified lead trainer is expected to train at least five additional teachers, creating a multiplying effect that allows educational knowledge and skills to reach more schools and students over time.
It also combines digital learning with face-to-face coaching, online mentoring, peer learning, and a community of practice. Mariarosy believes that technology should strengthen human connections rather than replace them:
“I have never seen a platform change a teacher’s practice on its own. I have seen a trusted colleague do it, and then a platform keep it alive”.
Building Stronger Education Through Partnerships
Behind TTT Academy is a network of local and international partners working toward a shared goal.
The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Zanzibar supports local implementation and curriculum alignment, while partners such as Cisco Networking Academy and IBM SkillsBuild contribute digital learning resources. Universities and corporate partners, including Northeastern University, Bocconi University, and R1 Group, also contribute expertise and support.
As Program Director, Mariarosy oversees the development of curricula, coordinates partnerships, supervises training activities, and works with developers and project managers to bring the Academy’s vision to life. For her, building strong partnerships is about bringing together people and institutions who believe in creating opportunities that communities can eventually sustain independently.
One of her most rewarding moments came during the 2025 training, when participants began asking not just how to use technology but also how to teach those skills to others. It was a sign that teachers were beginning to see themselves as future trainers.
A Vision for the Future of Teacher Training
Looking ahead, TTT Academy aims to support approximately 3,000 secondary school teachers across Zanzibar and Pemba, with the potential to reach tens of thousands of students over time. Following its planned deployment in November 2026, the long-term vision is to expand the teacher-training model across mainland Tanzania and eventually other African countries, beginning with Kenya.
But for Mariarosy, success is not measured simply by how far the program expands.
“I will consider it achieved on the day a Tanzanian lead trainer trains a Kenyan cohort and R.O.S.A. is not in the room”.
Her vision brings the story back to where it began: an educational opportunity that transformed her own life and inspired her to create opportunities for others.
From a scholarship in New York to the launch of ReCoding Africa and the development of TTT Academy, Mariarosy’s journey reflects the belief that has guided R.O.S.A. since 2014.
Lasting educational change happens when people have the knowledge, resources, and confidence to continue teaching, creating, and leading independently. And through TTT Academy, that vision can continue growing, one teacher, one classroom, and one community at a time.