Developing Island Identities Through Citizen Approaches? The Contribution of Cultural Rights Exploratory Approach by Two Islands in Brittany

The identity of insular territories is generally built from top-down and ‘institutionalised’ political logics. However, in the challenge for differentiation between territories and islands, these approaches have their limits. It appears necessary to coordinate external economic and tourism development issues with local territorial issues, by identifying cultural resources as understood by cultural rights. To deploy a renewed island territorial marketing, would be a question of implementing participatory projects and methodologies to meet the following challenges: How to create a common culture? How to promote citizen tourism? How to reveal the identities involved? Our research proposes to analyse the challenges of this ‘reverse’ territorial marketing. In an exploratory phase of the research process, we question how can the island’s website, particularly the homepage, as a place of digital expression of desired identity contribute to a renewed imagination, excitement and to enhance positive behaviours? What is the contribution of the aesthetic dimensions of cognitive design versus relational, experiential and emotional design? We present the results of an exploratory study of two islands in Brittany conducted through a qualitative and a quantitative approach.