What if the 5 euro banknote showed a mother carrying her child on a bicycle? The one from 10, a mother cradling a newborn, watering the flowers, tidying up the house. The one of 20, a mother who works on the PC, but then comes home, does the shopping, takes the dog for a walk. And so also for the larger denominations, those of 50, 100 and 200: what would happen if the euros, instead of monuments, represented the extraordinary, silent, unpaid care work that every woman does every day? How much cultural and political value could this choice have for the populations of the eurozone?
The representatives of Make Mothers Matter (Make mothers count)literally!), an international NGO that has been engaged in research, support and advocacy actions in favor of women and mothers in Europe and around the world since 1947. On November 14 in Paris the organization launched The Momney Projectan expression that merges “mom” and “money” to convey a bold awareness campaign (the video of which can be seen at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImiDthhnBkc ) which proposes that mothers appear on euro banknotes: a powerful symbol of their essential but too often invisible contribution to society.
And indeed the time is right: for the first time since 2002, the ECB led by Christine Lagarde has launched an initiative to redesign the euros: the famous “Europa” series, composed of illustrations of arches, bridges, stained glass windows belonging to different eras and styles (but not referring to real monuments to avoid political embarrassment), will have to be replaced by exploring how money can better embody our social and human values. To do this, the ECB is consulting the populations and has invited designers from various countries to nominate new projects (and from the latest updates, the chosen themes were “European Culture” and “Rivers and Birds”, but that’s it). During the year, the European Central Bank established a judging commission and organized a graphics competition following which, in 2026, the Governing Council will select the final designs.
Make Mothers Matter has decided to respond to this invitation: «We applaud all initiatives that aim to change mentalities and build a more just society», said the president Anne-Claire de Liedekerke. The NGO thus commissioned six illustrators, all mothers, to bring the project to life: Adolie Day, Virginie, Kypriotis, Alice Hoffman, Aurore Petit, Meroo Seth and Maëlys Chay. Women, mothers, professionals from different countries who each produced a design for a different denomination of banknotes: starting from the 5 euros, which illustrates all the organization and supervision activities that mothers carry out in their free time, then the 10 euros which focus on care of the house and domestic activities, the 20 euros the delicate balance between life and work, the 50 euros listening and daily support, the 100 euros education and help with study, finally the 200 euros care, as a general activity of attention and support, which generates a great sense of well-being in everyone.
Activities, these, universally shared by all European (and world) womenwhich have weight and value: Make Mothers Matter remember that each woman dedicates approximately 4 hours and 18 minutes of her daily time to unpaid care work. If they were paid, the hours dedicated to care work globally would be equal to 10,000 billion euros per year. According to economists, unpaid care work accounts for up to 40% of GDP in some countries. “Care is not a private matter, but a collective responsibility, which fathers, companies and governments must fully embrace,” Make Mothers Matter emphasizes.
There probably isn’t much chance for mothers to become the icons of the new banknotes: rivers and culture have already been put on track by the ECB as possible themes. The cultural competition of Beethoven is too strong, and so is that of Cervantes or Marie Curie (but, one might say with a joke, where would a genius be without a mother who looks after him and makes him study?).
To find out more about the movement and participate, so that a “grassroots” initiative can strengthen the project:
www.makemothersmatter.org/the-momney-project
#TheMomneyProject
