African Internet community mourns late Pierre Ouedraogo - ITREALMS

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The African Internet community has been thrown into mourning following the demise of its champions, late Mr. Pierre Ouedraogo, whose sad event occurred on Thursday, July 13, 2023 in Burkina Faso, reports ITREALMS.

For members of the African At-Large Regional Organisation (AFRALO) at its 5th General Assembly in Accra-Ghana, participants observed a minute silence in honour of the late Pierre Ouedraogo.

Speaking during the General Assembly, the chairman of AFRALO, Mr. Seun Ojedeji noted the importance of the one minute silence was in recognition of late Pierre Ouedraogo, who is one of Africa’s internet champions.

Also, Ojedeji informed late Pierre was a major contributor to Internet development in the region, especially within the Francophone community.

Ojedeji prayed that his soul rest in peace, even as he declared that late Pierre will be greatly missed.

Equally during the opening session of the 2023 Africa Engagement Forum in Accra, the Vice President, Global Stakeholder Management (GSE) for Africa at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Mr. Pierre Dandjinou, eulogised late Ouedraogo.

He later led participants to an evening of tributes and signing of condolence register opened by GSE Africa.

ITREALMS recalled that late Mr. Ouedraogo was reputed as former companion of Thomas Sankara in his heydays. Late Pierre Ouedraogo, a retired colonel in Burkina Faso’s army, reportedly took active part in the 1983 revolution.

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In 2012, Pierre was awarded the prestigious Jonathan B. Postel Service Award for his technical leadership in the continent, mostly focused on the Francophone Africa. Of late, ITREALMS gathered that Pierre established the Francophone School of Internet Governance (FSIG) which he promoted with his usual keenness, among others.

Late Pierre Ouedraogo, one of the prominent figures of the African Internet fraternity and also a founding member and a strong supporter of the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) over the years.

Those who spoke at various points of the tributes, were in agreement that late Mr Pierre Ouedraogo's passage remained a deep loss not only for his family, but for both AFRINIC and the entire African Internet community under AFRALO.

Remmy Nweke/DoP