Coming to You This April: The April Uprising, 1876
Single Delegate Crisis Committee
apriluprising@uclamun.org
Committee Summary
The Ottoman Empire: incredibly powerful, and undoubtedly influential. However, this committee is not about them. It’s about one of the countries they stifled in their quest for dominance, and its determination to fight back.
After centuries of Ottoman control, the Bulgarian spirit was finally stirring. Poets, teachers, hopeful revolutionaries, and civilians who would become known as the “Awakeners” (Buditeli) were traveling across the country reminding people what it meant to be Bulgarian.
In 1875, a group of these patriots—emigrants who had fled to Romania—took the first step toward rebellion by setting May 11, 1876, as the date for their uprising.
Delegates will begin the conference as Buditeli attending the covert final pre-rebellion meeting held on April 16, 1876. However, the Ottoman empire has eyes and ears everywhere, and any threat to their control will be swiftly dealt with (in other words, there is a reason “May 11th” became April…).
In reality, although the uprising ended tragically, it proved to Europe that Bulgarians would no longer remain complacent.
Through this committee, the delegates have the opportunity to change the course of history, and face off against the most powerful military in the world and demonstrate their right to independence.
Meet The Staff
Prisha Narasimhan
Chair
Hello!
My name is Prisha Narasimhan (she/her) and I’m extremely honored to be your chair for the April Uprising, 1876! I am a third-year at UCLA double majoring in Economics, Statistics and Data Science and minoring in Global Studies. On campus, I am also involved with the United Nations Association chapter at UCLA and BVAC (art club). In time, I hope to pursue a career in foreign service or (in general) a career involving international relations and data analytics. I love to paint, cook, binge tv shows (Derry Girls, Brooklyn 99, Parks and Rec, One Piece, etc.), watch the Olympics, play piano, and play MarioKart and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (on the ancient Wii though).
I have participated in MUN since my freshman year of high school back in the Bay Area (to be a bit more specific, a suburb in the East Bay). My experience in MUN began as I wanted to face my struggles with public speaking and learn to articulate my thoughts into words. Over the years, I found myself engaged and fascinated by the thoughtful and substantial conversations about ongoing and past global events/conflicts with fellow delegates. I especially enjoyed (oddly enough I suppose) developing a rather extensive research process to help me prepare for each conference (I always created a country profile for every nation/character I have represented). Here in Model UN at UCLA, I’ve previously chaired the DnD: Cerulean Principality side of the JCC, and am now beyond excited to chair the April Uprising!
The April Uprising symbolizes the surge of nationalism sweeping across Europe in the 19th century. Through this committee we have the unique opportunity to explore the complexities of a rebellion that has been rather overlooked through history. The committee tasks the Bulgarian people to plan and organize an uprising due to the heavy oppression they faced under the Ottoman regime, further complicated by the influence of foreign forces such as the Russian and British Empires. Over the weekend, I greatly look forward to a lively, thoughtful, and appropriately chaotic debate as you all immerse yourselves in the rich policial and social Bulgarian political and social landscape. Good luck!
Welcome to the April Uprising, 1876!
Prisha Narasimhan
Chair | April Uprising, 1876 | LAMUN XX
Sofia Behzadi
Crisis Director
Dear Delegates,
Hello! Здравейте! My name is Sofia Behzadi (she/her) and I am a second-year majoring in Computer Science and Engineering (think 80% computer science, 20% electrical engineering).
I’m a born and bred LA native (so I never got to escape LA public school) but my family hails from Bulgaria. (Fun fact, my first name is a tribute to our capital.) Yes my last name is Persian, which is because my grandfather moved to Bulgaria where he met my grandmother.
My favorite things to do include running, skiing, listening to music (a lot of Taylor Swift, One Direction and other bubblegum pop) and supporting Manchester United. However, I have been taken hostage by the engineering lifestyle, spending all of my time outside of MUN drowning in my course load.
My high school’s MUN team was too small to even dream about hosting our own conferences, so my first staffing experiences came in my freshman year, where I staffed crisis committees, both at BruinMUN (our high school conference) and LAMUN (the Mongol invasion of Korea).
This fall I CDed my first committee for BruinMUN, on Japan’s Hogen Rebellion, and the April Uprising will be my first time CDing LAMUN.
Speaking of our committee, it is a dream come true for me.
You may be thinking “she cares because it’s her country, but why should we?” (I know I’ve certainly thought that about committees referencing some obscure moment in history with no connection to me.) However, I encourage you to use this as an opportunity to explore the rich culture of a brand new place - did you know Bulgaria was founded in 681 CE, making it the oldest country in Europe? - while enacting an incredibly meaningful and influential piece of history. The Ottoman Empire was still one of, if not the, most powerful force at the time, and the April Uprising was Bulgaria’s first sign to Europe that it wanted its freedom back. You will get to motivate people, spread culture, and work together to take on this formidable force, freeing a people that had been conquered for centuries, and earning their eternal gratitude - in fact, the men and women whom you will be playing, the Buditeli, have their own national holiday.
See you all in April!
Best,
Sofia Behzadi
Crisis Director | April Uprising, 1876 | LAMUN XX