EUROPESERVICING 2006
DIRECTOR'S CUT: SESSION 1


Modern Times is a 1936 silent film starring Charlie Chaplin as "The Tramp", who struggles to live in modern industrial society and the age of machines. Despite the recent introduction of sound into movies at the time Modern Times was made, Chaplin deliberately chose to use only sound effects, highlighting the silenced voice of the worker and his attempts to keep up with the mechanized and impersonal production line.

Chaplin’s Tramp character is so ingrained in the consciousness of international film audiences that several iconographic studies have labeled the Tramp as the single most identifiable fictional image in history – even to those who’ve never seen his films.

The lead characters in Modern Times are the only characters who exhibit individuality and idealism, yet they are the ones lowest in the social and economic heirarchy.

Hopefully, we won’t have to go too much further in making our point with regard to how the servicing sector in Europe has been historically perceived. We argue that part of the problem lies in some of the marketing out there promoting servicing activities as "credit factories" based on outdated consulting approaches from the late '80s.

The "director's cut" or "notes" were written by EuropeServicing's chief architect and host, Toni Moss, CEO of EuroCatalyst. Because the event is being held at the famous 195 Piccadilly, the home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, EuroCatalyst has chosen to use movie titles to theme each session. While some see films as entertainment, others recognise the art of cinema as a record of the human condition. EuroCatalyst chose titles and short clips of films to theme and inspire discussion as we bring the triumph and struggles of the European servicing sector to life over the course of the two-day EuropeServicing event. Even if you have not seen any of the films mentioned, the simple titles should tell you everything you need to know. Moss and her guest hosts look forward to interviewing the lineup of panellists who represent the best that the European servicing industry has to offer, and hope to change your perspectives about the role and importance of servicing as the stage upon which the European mortgage industry is set.