Athens and Boston become twinned – Bakoyannis’s meeting with Mayor Michelle Wu

The decision for twinning of Athens and Boston, received during their meeting, o Mayor of Athens, Costas Bakogiannis and the Boston Mayor Michelle Wuwanting to seal the timeless strong bonds that exist between the two cities.

Mr. Bakoyannis met with the newly elected Mayor of Boston Mr. Michelle Wuduring the official visit to the American city, where he handed over in a special ceremony the wreaths for the first four winners of today 126th City Marathon.

As agreed by the Mayor of Athens and Mrs. Wu, the twinning will proceed in the next period, after all the necessary procedures are done.

Mr. Bakoyannis also invited the Mayor of Boston to Athens next November to attend the 39th Authentic Marathon in the Greek capital.

“We were already late! Boston, the “Athens of America” ​​is the homeland of a very large and extremely active Greek-American community. It is a city with which I have strong personal ties. But above all, Athens and Boston are associated with a strong tradition, which is a reminder of our common principles and values. Especially at a time when the open Western Republic is under barbaric attack by the dark forces of authoritarianism and tyranny. “We discussed with Mayor Michelle Wu, that we will bring the two cities even closer with mutual benefit for our citizens”, said Mr. Bakoyannis in a statement.

The twinning will create a new, modern and solid bridge of cooperation which will contribute to the strengthening of economic ties, with a positive impact and to the stimulation of tourism in Athens.

“Athens has to offer unique experiences to American travelers, which is why we invite them to visit our city this year,” said Costas Bakoyannis to Michelle Wu, while sending a similar message through a series of interviews with expatriates and american media.

The agreement will include a series of actions and initiatives to promote Athens as an ideal tourist destination for Bostonians as for the first time, after 25 years, there will be a direct air connection this year.

At the same time, there will be exchange of good practices to fight climate crisisbut also cooperation on issues related to digitization and after ecosystems of start-ups, which in both Boston and Athens find an extremely impressive field of action.

The speech at Harvard University

The Mayor of Athens during his stay in Boston, participated in an event Kennedy School of Public Administration, Harvard Universityof which he is also a graduate.

During the event, entitled European Conference 2022 organized by Center for European Studies and the group of Greek students of the “Kennedy” School, Mr. Bakoyannis, speaking in a packed room and to students from all over the world, referred to the transition to the new era in which Athens is gradually passing.

Feeling special joy, but also emotion among the Greek students who attended it, he noted that Athens, having shown great resilience, managed to emerge from the ten-year economic crisis and make a big leap in the future with significant changes, on many levels. He referred to the big bet of the works for the upgrade of the public space that will change the quality of life of the Athenians and the visitors, to the interventions for shielding against the risks of the climate crisis, to the digital transition, to the creation of a strong network for protection of vulnerable people and in the consolidation of inclusion.

Speaking specifically about the social policy initiatives of the Municipality of Athens, he referred to the pioneering Multipurpose Homeless Center that was created in the pandemic and in the hostel for homeless drug addicts. As, characteristically, Mr. Bakoyannis said “we realized from the first moment of the pandemic that one of the biggest challenges we had to face in a big urban center like Athens, was loneliness. So, we quickly started to” build “the appropriate solutions “.

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