Rural France is faced with significant economic and social challenges, coupled with a prevailing sense of decline. Nevertheless, these rural regions boast diversity and a rich cultural, environmental and human heritage. Many dedicated individuals are actively involved in nurturing positive initiatives within rural landscapes, yet they often face a shortage of both human and financial resources, leaving them feeling overlooked by public policy. Established in 2018 in Termes d'Armagnac, Occitanie, InSite seeks to challenge the prevailing perception of rural areas as forsaken and neglected. Instead, it offers young individuals a rewarding opportunity to contribute meaningfully to these communities. InSite provides support to small villages with less than 1 500 inhabitants, aiding in the implementation of sustainable projects. It focuses on fostering social connections and entertainment, preserving culture and heritage, and promoting environmental sustainability.

To provide an opportunity for engaging young people in rural revitalisation, creating a win-win scenario that benefits both rural communities and the young volunteers who become the driving force behind positive change

The Rural Volunteering initiative is a support system for both local communities and young individuals seeking meaningful engagement. Its core strength lies in its adaptability, customising each project to the needs of each village through collaborative efforts. Within the process of welcoming young volunteers into villages, there are several pivotal stages. Firstly, there is the prospecting phase, involving the meticulous selection of areas and towns. Then comes the diagnostic stage, a collaborative effort involving data processing and collective work, facilitating the identification of shared needs and a collective commitment to address them. Subsequently, the initiative progresses into mission ideation, where teams from InSite and the municipality involved, including appointed representatives in each rural area, called local referents, and associated partners, collaborate to outline the mission's details. The process continues with recruiting volunteers, encompassing a recruitment campaign, application processing and personalised information meetings with the youngsters. Additionally, the project trains the local referents since they are a key element for the accompaniment of the youngsters during their volunteer experience. For monitoring the initiative, the InSite team carries out regular on-site visits to check the mission's progress. Finally, an assessment and evaluation phase ensures a comprehensive review of the mission's outcomes and impacts.

The success of this voluntary civic service mission is rooted in the young people's full immersion and settlement within the area where they carry out their mission. They reside in the municipality, becoming integral citizens of the village throughout their experience, actively engaging in crafting a shared journey with elected local representatives, associations and other residents ofthe rural community. 

The organisational and operational model has been designed to ensure replicability by employing an empowerment approach for local stakeholders and young volunteers. This method involves adaptable tools tailored to local realities, pooled resources, use of digital capabilities for communication, dissemination and community building, and establishing partnerships with nationally and locally established structures. 

The empowerment and skills transfer approach facilitates a village's progression from a ‘supported’ status to that of a ‘contributor’ within the InSite community. Following an initial experimental phase in Occitanie in 2019, the project had expanded into five other regions by 2023 (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, Corsica, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Grand Est and Normandy). Going forward, the plan is to extend the programme to six new regions, aiming to cover the entire nationalterritory.