Lutz Wallhorn

Tell us briefly who you are and what you do!

Lutz Wallhorn lives in Düsseldorf and works at the intersection of science, data, and politics and is a member of Die Linke. Alioun Diagne is an activist and software developer based in Munich, organizing with Die Linke to fight rising housing costs. Together with Theo Glauch, the two have co-founded Red Data Analytics, helping organizations turn data into legally compliant, responsible, and actionable insight, supporting more effective campaigns, and stronger democratic participation.

Your session From data to doors: Mapping neighbourhoods, milieus, and campaign potential gives participants insights into how we can use public data for organizing. Can you share a concrete example with us of how this has been done successfully in the past?

One concrete example comes from our work with Die Linke in Germany. We developed a map-based campaign tool that helps local teams plan and prioritise their outreach more strategically. For example, in tenant-focused campaigns, we combined publicly available data, including German census data, to identify areas where certain housing and heating patterns were more likely. This made it easier to target door-to-door outreach around issues that were especially relevant in specific neighbourhoods.

We are currently doing similar work with Die Linke Berlin. With state elections coming up in Berlin this year, the party is using a map app we built to support the planning of canvassing efforts throughout the campaign. The goal is always the same: to help organizers focus time and resources where they can have the greatest impact.

Who would you recommend this workshop to, and is there any prerequisite level of knowledge about campaigns, or can anyone join?

This workshop is for anyone interested in how data can support organizing and campaigning in practice. It will be especially useful for organizers, campaigners, activists, and tech-curious participants who want to better understand how data can inform strategic decisions on the ground.

At the same time, we want to keep the session as accessible as possible. No prior knowledge of campaigns, mapping, or data science is required. The workshop is designed so that people can join with different levels of experience and still come away with useful ideas and examples.