Progress Toward Sustainable Development Goal 4 in a Culturally Diverse World: The Experience of Modalidad Propia in Colombia

The national early childhood development (ECD) policy of Colombia De Cero a Siempre has developed a mechanism for policy implementation specific to ethnic-minority, rural and indigenous populations in the country (the Modalidad Propia). We discuss the Modalidad Propias a scalable process to ensure access and quality resources for early childhood development, care and pre-primary education (SDG Target 4.2) among diverse indigenous, rural, remote as well as mainstream or majority communities. We explain how national policies must take into account the contexts of the cultural nature of human development as well as regional livelihood dynamics in order to define how services can be structured and delivered to children and their families. Although the SDG’s are universal in nature, contextualization of policies to the diversity of ethnic, indigenous, and language-minority groups within countries is necessary to achieve progress in access, equity and quality. The Modalidad Propia mechanism may help other governments to engage in reciprocal dialogue with culturally diverse communities to ensure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.