by VDC staff

A media festival featuring national and Vermont speakers on education, socialism, teachers unions and two proposed amendments to the Vermont Constitution will be held Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Main Street Landing Film House in Burlington.

The United We Stand Media Fest is scheduled from 1 to 6:30 PM at 1 Main Street. Organizers say the event will use films, social media presentations, keynote speeches and panel discussions to examine political and ideological divisions, with a focus on schools and government.

National speakers include Dr. James Lindsay, an author, mathematician and co-founder of New Discourses; Ken Pope, a senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation; filmmaker Natalya Murakhver; and Jennifer Richmond of the Institute for Liberal Values.

Organizers say Lindsay will address what he describes as a socialist agenda in schools and government, while Pope will discuss communism and political ideology in education. Richmond is expected to discuss ideological and foreign influences in American public education. Murakhver will present her documentary, “15 DAYS: The REAL Story of the Pandemic School Closures,” examining the decisions that kept many American schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program also is expected to address the role of the National Education Association and Vermont’s proposed constitutional amendments, Proposal 3 and Proposal 4. Proposal 3 concerns a constitutional right to collectively bargain, while Proposal 4 would amend the Vermont Constitution’s equal-protection language.

Vermont participants announced by organizers include Alison Despathy, Ed Wheeler, Renne McGuinness, Clara Morrison and representatives of SPEAK VT.

The published schedule calls for short films, social media reels and speakers during the first half of the program, followed at 4 PM by the screening of Murakhver’s “15 DAYS” and additional discussion.

Tickets and registration information are available through the United We Stand Media Fest Eventbrite page.

A related event will be held Friday evening, Oct. 2. Organizers had described it as a private gathering with national speakers. The current Eventbrite listing describes it as a dinner, screening and discussion with Murakhver and Lindsay from 6 to 9 PM at 6818 U.S. Route 4 in Bridgewater.