A truckload of inspiration: How the Kulturkarre rocked rural Germany
What are the essential ingredients for a creative campaign? For the German Young Greens, it was an old East German truck and a determination to have fun. Their recent ‘Kulturkarre’ project might have sounded crazy at the start, but it shows how progressives can break out of their usual bubble, build connections in places they usually struggle to reach, and fight the far right – all while dancing the night away.
A big, diesel-guzzling truck might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the German Young Greens (Grüne Jugend). But for co-chair Henriette and her team, that was the whole point.
Ahead of elections in Germany, the youth wing of the Green Party bought an old truck from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), packed it with technical equipment and turned it into a mobile stage. Then they took it to rural villages in eastern Germany, bringing live music, DJ nights, and open-air cinema to places where young people have few options when it comes to going out and socializing. What started as a wacky idea they joked about became the ‘Kulturkarre’ – roughly translated as the “culture car”.
Taking the party out of its comfort zone
As Henriette explains, “In Eastern Germany, especially in rural areas, young people don't have a lot of cultural options where they can go in the evenings, like parties or theaters. So cars have a big meaning in how you spend your free time. You often don't have any buses driving that you can afford, or the buses don't drive at all, so a lot of young people in rural areas have cars.”
Support for the far right has been growing in parts of eastern Germany, where young people can feel overlooked and frustrated by their lack of opportunities. “There is a big danger of young people getting radicalized when they don't have opportunities, sit at home, and only have TikTok as a free-time resource,” says Henriette. “In Germany, especially in rural areas in Eastern Germany, more and more young people are turning to the right.” In light of the connections between these issues, the Kulturkarre was an attempt to tackle both, while also challenging preconceptions about the Greens.
“Many people in Germany assume the Greens don’t like cars and want to ban them,” says Henriette, “I think that's a big reason many people don't like the Green Party, because there's this image that we take cars away. Obviously, a lot of young people who don't live in cities have no other options to get anywhere, so the car is a bigger symbol for participation in social life.” The project’s organizers wanted to recognise that reality rather than lecture people about it.
“We weren't trying to pressure anyone into a political conversation, or win anyone’s vote,” she explains, “The goal was simply that young people who had never voted Green, or perhaps didn't know anyone who did, would leave thinking, ‘Actually, those young people are just cool, normal people.’” This meant leaving the party's usual visual identity behind. There were no big Green logos or sunflowers plastered across the truck, as the organizers wanted to make sure people were not alienated from the start. “We wanted to open up a different perspective and reach young people whatever their political background,” Henriette adds.
From a crazy idea to a campaign on the road
The Kulturkarre began, in part, as a joke between friends. The idea of a Green party’s youth wing buying an old, inefficient truck seemed very unlikely – and to some people, shocking. But Henriette and her team believed in their idea.
With the far-right increasingly making gains among German youth, there had to be a bold response. But simply telling them what the Greens stood for was unlikely to change anything. They needed to show up in their communities and offer something appealing. Turning that idea into reality required money, performers, places to park and people who knew how to handle a 50-year-old truck.
The fundraising proved surprisingly straightforward. The team set out the problem they had identified and pitched a tangible project: bringing culture to young people in underserved rural areas. “It was really the storytelling that made the difference for winning support,” says Henriette. “Early on, we spread the idea within the Green Party and different groups, and we talked to people in parliament from our party. Everywhere I went, I talked about the danger of young people in rural areas not having opportunities to participate in cultural activities.”
“Through that, we could explain the political need for this project, why it is relevant for society and our political climate,” she adds, “We also got help from a German filmmaker who makes progressive movies. Through the money we fundraised we were able to buy the car.” By explaining the problem and showing how the project could make a difference, the team was able to win support from people who might not otherwise have funded the Young Greens.
Making the tour happen was another matter. As a youth organization with few paid staff, the team relied heavily on volunteers and goodwill. They contacted young singers and performers through Instagram messages, asking them to get involved. People offered places to park the truck overnight, including gardens, while the grandfathers of some Young Greens members pitched in to help transport the vehicle from village to village.
“It was a really fun project because so many people helped with different resources,” says Henriette. “In the end, we saw that it was a success because we talked to a lot of young people from outside the usual Green-left bubble, which was the original idea. They saw a big truck with colorful lights and music, wondered what was happening, and came over. We welcomed them, offered free drinks, and invited them to join the music. There were Young Green stickers, so they knew who organized it, but we didn't hand them participation forms or ask them to vote for us on Sunday. It was a casual invitation to come and join, whoever they were.”
Breaking expectations to build trust
The Kulturkarre’s success was partly down to the way it challenged assumptions about how Greens campaign and communicate. “A lot of people thought it was a crazy thing for the youth wing of a Green party to do,” says Henriette. “But I think that got us a lot of attention. If we had come to city centers in a new electric car with sunflowers on it, it would be what we always do and wouldn't have been as successful. So breaking with the usual expectations is a good idea, provided you have the political analysis to back up why it's a good decision.”
This doesn’t mean abandoning principles of sustainability of course, or that every campaign necessarily needs a provocative prop. But it’s a lesson to campaigners to dare to go off-script and risk shaking things up, especially when current approaches aren’t delivering results.
"Sometimes less is more, and when you narrow a story down to a single object like the Kulturkarre, it can be a big success.”
For Henriette, another key lesson the experience taught them is that “you need a single image or object that explains a whole political way of thinking in an accessible way.” A symbol like this can be much more powerful than theories, analyses, and spreadsheets. “Many young people in rural areas of Germany are frustrated because they lack options after school and have nothing to do on weekends. With this one car, we address a lot of those frustrations and political issues happening across Germany. Sometimes less is more, and when you narrow a story down to a single object like the Kulturkarre, it can be a big success.”
The road ahead – Giving everyone a chance to dance
After this experience, the team hopes to build on their success and make the Kulturkarre a lasting presence. “One core idea of the whole campaign is that we don't just visit villages a month before an election,” explains Henriette. The car will be stored over winter but once the spring comes they hope to return to the villages they visited previously. “We want to show residents that we are staying and aren't just coming when we want their votes, but that we are genuinely interested in how they are doing and their everyday issues. We will also use the car for elections in other states in Germany,” she adds.
“At first, people smiled at the Kulturkarre thinking it was just kids wanting to dance, but ultimately it's a symbol that everybody needs moments of hope, friendship, and community within the broader struggle.”
Henriette sees the project as an important way to sustain resistance in a difficult political climate. For her, projects like Kulturkarre are vital to help activists and others feel hopeful while fighting for change – but also to give them the chance to just have fun. “In political activism, we need those moments to keep fighting,” she says. “At first, people smiled at the Kulturkarre thinking it was just kids wanting to dance, but ultimately it's a symbol that everybody needs moments of hope, friendship, and community within the broader struggle.”
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Featured image from Kulturkarre's intagram feed.
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