photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever, sitting left, and Messolonghi Mayor Spyridon Diamontopoulos, right, reaffirmed the sister city agreement between Lawrence and Messolonghi, Greece, on Thursday July 3, 2025.

Lawrence city officials on Thursday afternoon welcomed a delegation from a Greek city to officially sign an agreement reaffirming a sister city partnership.

The agreement is between Lawrence and the Sacred City of Messolonghi in western Greece, and the signing reaffirms an international relationship between the two cities that spans 40 years. The relationship began when the University of Kansas Department of Theatre and Dance Lawrence formed an academic partnership in 1986 with the Greek city of Oiniades.

In recent years, Oiniades was incorporated with other small towns into one municipality of Messolonghi. The city, located on the Gulf of Patras, has a population of about 33,000 people and has a satellite campus of a large Greek university.

Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever and Messolonghi Mayor Spyridon Diamontopoulos signed the agreement Thursday and gave speeches celebrating the partnership between the two cities. City Commissioners Bart Littlejohn and Amber Sellers and Vice Mayor Brad Finkeldei were also on hand as four other officials from Messolonghi joined the Greek delegation — three of whom had never visited the United States before this trip.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Lawrence city officials, Sister Cities Lawrence represenatives and a delegation of officials from the Sacred City of Messolonghi in Greece celebrate the renewal of a sister city agreement Thursday, July 3, 2025.

Dever said the official signing of the agreement would not have been possible without the assistance of the Sister Cities Lawrence organization members, who helped take care of the Greek delegation’s visit, in some cases providing lodging in their own homes.

Dever noted that with the consolidation of the towns into one city, it took a while to get to the point of an official signing. A Lawrence delegation visited Messolonghi last year, which helped keep the relationship alive. Dever said he is excited to see the two cities grow and prosper through the partnership.

“(It’s) important to hold this relationship together,” Dever said. “We are here to help and grow our friendship.”

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever, center, and Messolonghi Mayor Spyridon Diamontopoulos hold a gift from the Greek delegation celebrating the continuation of the two cities’ sister city agreement. Bob Schumm, at left, is the committee chair of Friends of Oiniades, Greece.

The first official sister cities agreement between the two municipalities was signed in 2009. The updated agreement reflects the cities’ shared values and outlined goals to promote cultural and artistic exchange; encourage educational opportunities and academic partnerships and support student exchanges, delegations and civic collaboration.

Diamontopoulos said he was impressed with the “big hearts” of the people of Lawrence in welcoming them. He said although the cities are separated by oceans, Lawrence and Messolonghi are “united by shared values,” like liberty and cultural richness. Diamontopoulos invited the people of Lawrence to visit, saying “our city is your city.”

“We are proud to call you friends, and even prouder to call you family,” Diamontopoulos said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Gifts from the Messolonghi delegation are pictured along with the sister city agreement signed on Thursday, July 3, 2025.