[Npoc-discuss] A Tribute to Olevié Kouami

[Bikram Shrestha]

Dear Colleagues,
I wanted to take a moment to address the recent news of the passing of Olevié Kouami. It was truly shocking to knew all of his sudden demise, and I wanted to express my deepest condolences to all who knew him.
Olevié Kouami was not only a colleague but also a very good dear friend. I remember the early days of ICANN, Olevié was a jovial and fun-loving individual, and despite our occasional disagreements, we always managed to find common ground. His dedication and active involvement in ICANN during its early development were truly commendable.
In closing, may the soul of Kouami rest in perfect peace, may you find eternal peace in the heavens. We will always cherish the memories we shared, and we trust that God knows best why he called you home so soon.

Rest in Peace always,
Bikram Shrestha 

Sent from my iPhone

> On 20 Oct 2023, at 6:13 PM, Poncelet Ileleji via Npoc-discuss <npoc-discuss at icann.org> wrote:
> 
> Good day NPOC Colleagues,
>  
> How do I start this write up,  with flashes of the early days of NPOC popping back into my memory. It was a shock to me to read this morning  on our African IGF WhatsApp group on a post by Emmanuel Vitus on the demise of Olevié Kouami  who died of a heart attack in the early hours of Thursday 19 October 2023 in Lomé, Togo.
>  
> I got to know Olevié Kouami   in the early days of NPOC over a decade ago,  we were the only two Africans that our organisations were part of NPOC then.  He was jovial, fun and we always agreed to disagree.  Olevié Kouami  was very active in NPOC in the early days, we worked tirelessly together with our Late Chair then, Alain Berranger of blessed memory who we lost some years back, God Bless Alain soul. .
>  
> I last met Olevié Kouami  in person some 3 years ago at the Pullman Hotel in Dakar, still his usual self, he only sent a message to me some days after the global IGF in Kyoto on Facebook.  To hear of his sudden demise is sad and shocking.
>  
> Olevié Kouami in his own way he contributed to NPOC early development, we co authored with other NPOC Executives  colleagues then (Klaus Stoll, Alain Berranger, Marie-Laure Lemineur, Cintra Sooknanan, Poncelet Ileleji and Olévié Kouami ) the Non--‐Commercial Stakeholder Group: Not--‐for--‐Profit Operational Concerns Outreach Plan 2013.  A Plan 10 years plus old ,  am attached again which I believe is still relevant to NPOC even today.
>  
> Olevié Kouami he is now with our dearest amiable chair Alain Berranger in the heavens, am sure they will talk about NPOC as those early days where heated in our dialogues and exchanges either at ICANN Meetings or Global IGFs where NPOC used to have sessions then or our numerous online meetings via  skype or  Adobe Connect back then.
>  
> To his close friend in NPOC Professor Emeritus Sam LanFranco who he developed a strong bond with I also send my big condolences.  NPOC has now lost two individuals who in the early years of NPOC formation fought for its identity within ICANN.  Our collective shared responsibility moving forward  is to see NPOC carry out its mandate within the ICANN community in an honest and transparent way where equity counts even though we agree to disagree our NPOC membership binds us as we share the same objectives hence, we joined NPOC. 
> 
> As ICANN celebrates 25 years of existence in Hamburg starting tomorrow 21st October.  NPOC birth to the be the  second Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group constituency  within ICANN is also important to mention what we have done to address issues of Not for Profits within the DNS space, no matter how little some might see our contributions. 
> 
> To our current NPOC  leadership, may God guide you to strengthen NPOC better than before, even though disagreements will happen, but we should not lose sight of why NPOC became a necessary constituency in ICANN.
>  
> May the soul of Olevié Kouami     rest in perfect peace. Adieu Mr Jovial rest in the heavens brother, you ran your race our God knows best why you left us soon.
>  
> Peace Always
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