Bresca

A cultural practice instituted in the early Enlightenment Era which is considered a core part of the education of young people, intented to improve both the skill of engaging in conversation with strangers, and of leading and speaking for larger groups. It has evolved into a complex skill and draws on the social and language abilities of the speaker.

Before the Englightenment Era, bresca was recognised as the social practice of stopping strangers when out and about and engaging them in a short, friendly conversation, akin to small-talk. This original conception of the practice is now considered old-fashioned.

As the practice evolved, certain citizens gained a reputation as entertaining conversationalists, and would attract small crowds of people to listen and engage at daily gatherings. Popular bresca practitioners became vocational public speakers, and are often nominated by their peers to speak eloquently in representation of the interests of their local community.

Bresca as a form of communal representation is most prominent in Union, where it is the de-facto method of local governance that functions as the enclave’s Citizen’s Union.