The Indigenous Youth Fellowship Programme was an initiative of TIP supported by the Christensen Fund (TCF). The fellowship was a platform for exchange among young minds from indigenous communities. Through training, the program prepared the fellows in professional development, networking, management practices, and policy options to use and safeguard agrobiodiversity issues, and also helped gain exposure through different Rome-based UN agencies. They also travelled to Germany for a Training of Trainers specialising in Visualization in Participatory Programmes (VIPP). All in all, 4 fellows in total from three indigenous communities, Karen (Thailand), Khasi (2) (India), and Karrayuu (Ethiopia) were part of the Fellowship.
Two NESFAS associates, viz. Pius Ranee, Senior Associate (now Executive Director), and Alethea Kordor Lyngdoh, Lead Associate, Communications, were part of the 2017 Fellowship that was hosted by TIP partner, Bioversity International, in Rome, Italy for four months.