About MINE

From a handful of local spaces in 1980s Germany to over 1,000 centers worldwide — Mother Centers empower families, rebuild communities, and make care visible.

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The story of Mother Centers began in the early 1980s in Germany, as a grassroots response to the growing isolation of mothers in modern society. At a time when traditional family structures were shifting and communities were becoming less connected, a bold idea emerged: to create open, welcoming spaces where mothers and families could find mutual support, share everyday experiences, and build meaningful relationships.

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From these beginnings, the Mother Center concept quickly spread — first throughout Germany, then across Europe and beyond. Driven by the principle that “it takes a village to raise a child,” Mother Centers began appearing in diverse settings: from small local cafés to multi-service hubs offering childcare, skills training, and advocacy. Despite different shapes and names, they shared a common vision: to empower families, rebuild local communities, and bring the culture of care into public life.

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To connect and amplify these efforts, MINE — the Mother Centers International Network for Empowerment — was founded. MINE strengthens solidarity among centers, supports knowledge exchange, and advocates for family-friendly policies on a global scale. In 2002, MINE received the UN-Habitat Dubai Award for Best Practices, recognizing its impact in revitalizing neighborhoods and giving grassroots women a voice in public life.

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From the first mothers’ groups in Munich to vibrant centers across continents today, our story is one of resilience, shared purpose, and the power of community. What began as a simple act of connection has grown into a worldwide movement — by families, for families.

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Vision

We envision a world where care is recognized as a cornerstone of society, where mothers and caregivers are supported and empowered, and where every neighborhood is a place of connection, belonging, and mutual aid.

Mission

MINE (Mother Centers International Network for Empowerment) strengthens and connects Mother Centers globally. We support the founding, sustainability, and visibility of centers, encourage community-led solutions, and bring the voices of grassroots women and families into local and global decision-making

Mother Centers bring women and families into center stage and support them in building their confidence and ability to help themselves and each other. They re-integrate the culture of care into public life.
Mother Centers have an impact on many levels: influence the quality of parenting and family relations as well as of neighbourhoods, contribute to social cohesion and integration in communities as well as bringing a grassroots voice to local governance.

Mother Centers worldwide are grassroots, self-organized communities, supporting mothers, families on a daily basis. Experience shows that mother centers were the answer to a historical need of mothers in the 1970th. They are still spreading around the world. They represent another kind of globalization: a globalization from the ground. This had produced the need for a global network. So MINE was born.

Meet the People Behind MINE

Andrea Laux

Chair of the Board

Ingrid Bregenzer

Board member

Penny Kerrigan

Board member

Susanne Veit

Board member

Senada Dzankic

Board member

Madlen Lausterer

Public Relations

Rachel Castleberg

First point of contact / Assistant Project Coordinator

Alyona Kulykova

Volunteer Coordinator for Ukrainian Community Relations

Our stories:

Andrea Laux

Since 1986, I have been actively engaged in the Mother Center movement at local, national, and international levels. As a co-founder of the Mother Center Network Baden-Württemberg and a board member of the Mother Centers International Network for Empowerment (MINE), I work to make care work visible and to amplify the voices of people whose experiences, knowledge, and perspectives are too often overlooked in public discourse.

My commitment is rooted in the belief that strong communities emerge where people meet, share responsibility, and have the opportunity to shape their own realities. For many years, I have worked at the intersection of social participation, democracy, women’s empowerment, care, and social cohesion.

A particular focus of my work is the reflection and dialogue tool “Ich bin Clara”, which I initiated and co-authored together with two colleagues. “Ich bin Clara” creates spaces for personal and collective learning and encourages people to connect their lived experiences with broader social questions. The tool fosters dialogue, empathy, perspective-taking, and the capacity to navigate transitions and change collectively.

I see myself as a bridge-builder between local experiences and international learning processes, working to ensure that the knowledge and perspectives of women and communities are more strongly reflected in social and political developments.

Through exchanges with women and communities in many countries, I continue to experience how valuable local knowledge, mutual support, and a culture of care are for building democratic and resilient societies.
As a practitioner of Gross National Happiness, I am guided by the question of how we can create conditions in which people, communities, and democracy can flourish together.

Awards

Barbara Künkelin Preis (2020); Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz 2002); Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg (Landesorden Baden-Württemberg 2013 ); Rukeli Trollmann Prize (2025).
For me, such recognition primarily highlights the importance of care work, community building, and civic engagement.

Susanne Veit

My path to the mothers’ and family centers was actually quite classic: first child, alone at home in Munich, and no family nearby. Back then, the family center was truly a lifesaver for me. Over time, a regular visitor became a volunteer café host, and later I took on more responsibility, eventually leading the center on a volunteer basis.

My political and professional commitment grew out of this personal journey. Together with two colleagues, we built up the state association in Bavaria. Today, there are around 125 centers in Bavaria alone – which makes me incredibly happy and shows just how vital these places are for families.

I firmly believe that the concept of mothers’ and family centers works because it is so close to real life: open, low-threshold, and driven by community. That is exactly why the concept has spread worldwide.

For me, it was a natural next step to get involved internationally on a voluntary basis and work with MINE. We strengthen mothers and families, empower women, and build strong neighborhoods. In times like these, this is more important than ever.

And I find it simply wonderful to be connected through MINE with people from so many different countries who all share the same goal and the same mindset: that community supports us, that care work must be made visible, and that society only works well when everyone is included.

Penny Kerrigan

Penny Kerrigan is a Haida Elder, member of Old Massett Village Council and senior consultant with over 30 years of experience in Indigenous women’s governance, community development, housing and human rights frameworks, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She is the founder of the Aboriginal Mother Centre Society, in Vancouver, BC, Canada and served as a Liaison for the National Inquiry into Murdered Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, and is an advisor to Global Affairs Canada- Indigenous Peoples Partnering for Climate Canada, BC Assembly of First Nations, and is a member of Groots Canada and the Huairou Commission. She has extensive experience bridging grassroots leadership with international policy to advance climate resilience, gender equality, and sustainable development at the United Nations.

Rachel Castleberg

My first experience with the mother center movement was when I found myself moving from the US to Germany in 2018 with almost no German language skills and a not-quite-one-year-old daughter. Even after the women who worked in the center helped me find childcare, I discovered I didn’t want to leave. Before experiencing a mother center, I had always believed that only people with money or education or connections could make a difference in society. Now I was finding ways I could make a difference just by showing up, putting myself to work, and opening myself to possibility. I found myself wondering, how can I replicate my experience for others? How can I make sure this mother center concept touches just one more person, and then another, and another? It was then I decided to go back to school and get my Masters in Social Work, to see if I could find the connections between grassroots empowerment and professional expertise that could communicate this concept to the world. Working for MINE allows me to continue to pursue that dream. I am an international social worker licensed in the US who coordinates MINE projects from Germany.