TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, Dear Sir/Madam, In the wake of current developments and without prejudice, i present my testimony of Mr. Peirre Dandjinou - an "unusual" leader of our time. i first encountered Peirre Dandjinou at an AfNOG/AfriNIC meeting in the turn of the 21st century and he made time to engage on ideas to grow the Internet in Africa, we have since being engaged at the level of ideas and doing things for Africa. Mr. Dandjinou cuts across on language lines, very fluent in english and french, am sure in other languages that am not aware of. His disposition is soo African, it took me a while to realise he is of Beninou extraction. Worked in the UN System as a diplomat and at the same time engaged with the African private sector, he has a unique ability to balance the interest of governments, civil society, academia and private sector - an unusual leadership skill. Interestingly, he has such a quite and inclusive nature that he can do all the ground work for a meeting and during the event, he wont say a word and at the end, he would say, WE had a great meeting, now lets get to action. He is one of those leaders, who leader from behind by building community. Even when you disagree with him, he would find something that you both agree on and say, lets focus on that. He is the "unseen" leader in the building of the Af* institutions namely AfNOG, AfriNIC, AfrISPA, AfriCANN, AfTLD, AfRALO, AfFREN and now AfCERT. I must put on record that when we were establishing AfrISPA, he was one of the quiet advisors who would tell you what to do and when to say what and what not to do or say. When there is geat controversy and someone is discounted, Peirre would echo "atleast lets hear his or her side of the story" and conclude "whether we like it or not, he or she is part of the African story". Am sure if a court of competent jurisdiction sentenced someone to death without giving them a hearing, Peirre would still echo "lets hear his or her side of the story" - it takes great patience and an unusual substance for humanity to have that nature. The ICANN Community of which am a peripheral participant stands to benefit greatly from such an "unusual" leader and i submit that any institution that takes Peirre Dandjinou unto it's board would be greatly enhanced by an "unusual leader". To conclude, let me sound a caution; we as Africans "sacrificed" our leaders (Nkrumah, Nyerere, Uhuru etc) of the post colonial era and thats why we are where we are, please lets not make that mistake again in the 21st century when history beckons with new leaders in the likes of Peirre Dandjonou and co. On a lighter note, i like to call him PDD, if you know what i mean.....:-) Eric here Eric M.K Osiakwan Director Internet Research www.internetresearch.com.gh [email protected] 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Tel: +233.30.2258800 ext 7031 Fax: +233.30.2258811 Cell: +233.24.4386792