Martin Wacker
Martin Wacker, Managing Director of KME Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH & DAS FEST
Karlsruhe, Culture and Europe Belong Together!
DAS FEST is far more than a festival. It is a place of encounter, an open space forexchange, cultural diversity, and shared experiences. Precisely because so many of itsofferings are accessiblefor free, DAS FEST creates a unique form of public space: peoplefrom a wide range of backgrounds, age groups, and perspectives come together here. Theycelebrate together, meet one another, engage in conversation, and experience firsthand whatan open society isall about.
In this sense, DAS FEST is also a space where democracy is lived and practiced. It is a placewhere different opinions can be expressed, where discussion is possible, and where diversityis understood not as a source of division but as a strength. One might even say that, throughits openness and commitment to participation, DAS FEST represents a pre-democratic space–aplace where the foundations of democracy become tangible: encounter, respect, dialogue,and a willingness to engage with different viewpoints.
For us at the DAS FEST team within Karlsruhe Marketing und Event (KME), one thing is therefore clear: culture and Europe belong together.
Europe is not an abstract political concept to us; it is a shared cultural, social, and democratic space. It is a space that thrives on cooperation, openness, cross-border exchange, and the conviction that mutual understanding is stronger than isolation.
This is why we are actively involved in the European festival network YOUROPE. This network connects festivals and cultural stakeholders across national borders. It creates opportunities for cooperation, encourages new perspectives, and demonstrates that culture in Europe is always a shared endeavor. For us, participating in this network means taking responsibility: responsibility for exchange between cities, regions, and countries; for a Europe defined by cultural diversity; and for a democratic coexistence that does not end at national borders.
Another important pillar of our European commitment is the initiative Take a Stand. It is aimed particularly at young people and encourages them to engage with Europe, democracy, and social responsibility. Younger generations need spaces where they can ask questions, develop their own convictions, and experience that their voices matter. Take a Stand seeks to create exactly such spaces – open, accessible, and closely connected to the realities of young people's lives. After all, Europe is sustained not only by institutions or treaties, but by people who get involved, take a position, and actively help shape democracy.
The fact that this commitment carries special significance here in Karlsruhe is no coincidence. Karlsruhe is known as Germany’s City of Law. It is home to the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice, two of the most important institutions of our constitutional state. They stand for the fundamental principles upon which our democracy is built: freedom, human dignity, justice, the separation of powers, and the rule of law.
We regard this distinctive character of our city as a responsibility as well. Karlsruhe is not only geographically located in Europe; it is also, in an intellectual and civic sense, a place where democratic and constitutional values become visible and tangible. Europe has repeatedly viewed Germany – Karlsruhe in particular – as a model in matters of the rule of law, democratic culture, and institutional reliability. We are committed to living up to this role – not out of complacency, but out of a sense of responsibility.
Our commitment to Europe is therefore not an addition to our cultural work; it is an essential part of it. When we create spaces for encounter through DAS FEST, when we cultivate international networks, and when we seek to inspire young people to engage with Europe and democracy through Take a Stand, we do so based on a clear conviction: culture can build bridges. Culture can strengthen democratic participation. Culture can make Europe tangible in everyday life.
Especially at a time when democratic values are under pressure, when polarization is increasing, and when Europe’s fundamental achievements can no longer be taken for granted, we at KME want to send a clear message: for openness instead of exclusion, for dialogue instead of isolation, for diversity instead of fear – and for a Europe sustained by its citizens.
DAS FEST stands precisely for these values.
For community and exchange.
For cultural openness and democratic participation.
For Karlsruhe as a City of Law and as a city with European responsibility.
And for the conviction that Europe comes alive wherever people meet one another.
Courtesy of YOUROPE - The European Festival Network.
Also published in YOUROPE’s dedicated ’About Europe’ website section.
