The American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut invites you to join us for the latest installment in our Foreign Correspondent Unplugged series, which delves into current political debates on both sides of the Atlantic.
Timed to coincide with the 35th anniversary of German unification, this event will explore what binds societies together in an era of division. Germany’s journey from East and West to a unified nation offers lessons for communities grappling with social, political, and economic polarization today. We will compare these experiences with efforts to foster social cohesion in Texas, where demographic change and political tensions present unique challenges.
Join us for a discussion with award winning journalists Vladimir Balzer (Deutschlandradio) and Celeste Diaz Schurman (Houston Public Media) to examine how trust, identity, and shared values can be strengthened in volatile and uncertain times. The event will be moderated by the President of the American Council on Germany, Dr. Steven E. Sokol.
Vladimir Balzer is an award-winning radio journalist and moderator at Deutschlandfunk. He grew up in Leipzig and studied in Dublin, Venice, and Leipzig. He began his career as a presenter, reporter, and editor at Deutschlandradio and MDR. Mr. Balzer hosts, among other programs, the daily program “Fazit – Kultur vom Tage” on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. In 2022, he was selected to be a Kellen Fellow by the American Council on Germany. In 2023 he started as a correspondent at the Capital Studios of Deutschlandfunk in Berlin. He is known as a commentator for German Television, such as ZDF. He also regularly reports for his broadcaster from the United States.
Celeste Diaz Schurman is a Producer/Host at Houston Public Media, where she engages audiences with thought-provoking stories and fresh perspectives on relevant topics. A Brownsville, TX native with a degree in Finance, she has held roles in business, production, and hosting at The University of Texas – Moody College of Communication, ESPN Deportes, and Fox 26 Houston. Ms. Schurman believes in the impact public media has for local communities. She is a first-generation US-born American and takes great pride in being able to communicate fluently in Spanish.
Steven E. Sokol (moderator) has been the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany since 2015. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany. Prior to this, Dr. Sokol served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Earlier in his career, he also was a Program Manager at the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and was a paralegal at Fulbright & Jaworski. He holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin. Dr. Sokol serves on several non-profit boards and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) for his work to strengthen German-American relations.
