Privacy notice for the use of the Building Bridges website, last updated 24 June 2024 

General information

The purpose of this privacy notice (the “Notice“) is to inform you of the type of personal data we collect through the website buildingbridges.org (the “Website“) or the online registration platform for Building Bridges’ events (the “Portal“) in the context of your attendance to our events, the way we process such personal data and how we ensure their safety. By navigating on the Website, creating an account on the Portal, or being registered to an event by a third party, you are deemed to have read and approved this Notice. If you disagree with the Notice, please do not use the Website or the Portal and do not provide your personal data through the Website or the Portal. 

Please note however that we decline any responsibility for the collection and processing of your personal data by third parties’ websites that the Website may refer to (links) and we therefore invite you to read the corresponding privacy policies when visiting these third party websites. The use of such websites is at your own risk.

The present Notice is subject to change and the latest version is published on the Website and the Portal. Continued use of the Website or the Portal after a change in the Notice indicates your acknowledgement and acceptance of the processing of your personal data in accordance with the amended Notice.

The services provided on the Website and the Portal are not intended for individuals below the age of 18. If you are under 18, please do not provide your personal data on the Website and on the Portal.

1.    Who collects/processes your Personal Data?

Building Bridges Foundation, a Swiss foundation with registered office at c/o OBERSON ABELS SA, Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 5, 1212 Grand-Lancy, Switzerland (the “Foundation”, “Building Bridges” or “we“), determines the purposes and means of the processing of your Personal Data (as defined below) in the context of your use of the Website and the Portal and, as such, acts as data controller.

2.    What Personal Data do we collect?

Personal data is all information relating to an identified or identifiable person.

(i.) When you navigate on our Website or request our services, we may collect in particular

a. Information obtained through the use of cookies and other trackers (as described under section 6 below), in particular:

• Your navigation information and your frequentation of the Website’s pages;
• Limited personal data connected with your use of the Website, i.e. IP address, browser type, operating systems, websites you visit before and after our Website.

b. Where applicable, the content of the messages and/or queries you send us including:

• The application form to register your event on the Website: lead/planning organization, event or initiative title, first name, last name, email, short description, target audience, location (optional), start date and end date (optional), website (optional), themes;
• The application form to engage with the community: email address, first name, last name, position (optional), organisation, country, city (optional);
• The contact form: first name, last name, email, job title (optional), organization, city, country (optional), content of your message.

(ii.)When you use the Portal in order to register for an event or when you accept to be registered for an event by a third party, we may collect in particular:

• Contact details: first name, last name, email;
• Other information: gender, age, position, organization, listed industry, country of residence, Swiss canton when applicable.

(iii.) When you participate in an event organized by Building Bridges, we may, in addition to the information referred to above, also collect:

• Your photograph and video footage where you may appear.

The above-mentioned information collected as part of your use of the Website, the Portal or your participation in an event is hereafter referred to as “Personal Data“.

We never ask for sensitive data (i.e., personal data related to your racial or ethnic origins, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union affiliation, genetic data, data concerning your health, private sphere or data relating to administrative or criminal convictions and offenses) unless it is required by law. If we need to process sensitive data for other purposes, we will inform you and obtain your explicit prior consent.

3.    Why and on which basis do we collect your Personal Data? 

We collect your Personal Data:

(i.) To perform a contract entered into with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, in particular in order to:

• Answer your queries promptly and efficiently via the contact email address provided on our Website or on the Portal;
• Provide services you requested (e.g., registration to an event we organize ourselves or in cooperation with our event partners, management of your account on the Portal, assist you in the organization of the event you are organizing with the Foundation);
• Communicate with you with respect to your registration to an event, or in relation to an event you are organizing with the Foundation, including in particular information regarding the organization of the event, a change in the venue or the date, specific sanitary or security measures (including identification of contacts in case of an identified COVID-19 case among the participants to an event, in line with the applicable laws and regulations); 
• Send administrative information, such as change of our terms, conditions and policies.

(ii.)To fulfil our legitimate interest, in particular in order to:

• Establish statistics on the Website’s frequentation in order to improve its functioning and the services provided by Building Bridges;
• Establish statistics on registration and participation to our events;
• Ensure the Website’s security and maintenance (in order to reach this purpose, we use statistical data as far as possible); 
• Publish events’ photos and/or video footage on the Website, social media or other advertising materials for information, advertising and marketing purposes; and/or
• Enable you to access the Website and its functionalities.

(iii.)To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;

(iv.) Based on your consent for specific processing, such as:

• Providing you regular news and updates about events or activities related to the Foundation’s projects, when you subscribed to receive our newsletter.

If we need to carry out further processing for purposes other than those mentioned above, we will inform you and, where necessary, obtain your consent.

4.    With whom do we share your Personal Data? 

We may share your Personal Data with third parties in connection with the services we are providing to you (including your registration and attendance to an event) or the functioning of the Website or the Portal. The recipients of any such information will depend on the services that are being provided. In particular, we may disclose your Personal Data to:

• IT, storage or platform services providers, including to administer the Website and the Portal;
• Service providers performing services on our behalf, including marketing, communication or event planning services (e.g., agents, contractors or hotels);
• Other partners as part of the provision of our services and planification of our events (e.g., our event partners as part of the organization of our events);
• Local authorities to the extent deemed necessary, in particular for sanitary or security reasons or as required by mandatory laws and regulations;Any other persons as agreed with you.

5. Are your Personal Data transferred outside of Switzerland?

In the circumstances mentioned in Section 4 above, we may transfer your Personal Data to jurisdictions that: (i) ensure an adequate level of data protection (as per the list of countries in Annex 1 to the Swiss data protection ordinance and, as applicable, based on a decision of adequation of the European Commission) (e.g., in France, to a service provider in charge of the operation of the Portal); or (ii) do not offer an adequate level of data protection. In the latter case, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are provided, e.g., by using the standard contractual data protection clauses established by the European Commission and taking additional protective measures to the extent required.

To obtain details on the applicable safeguards, please contact us at the address provided under Section 10 below.

6.    What are cookies?

A cookie is a small file which is placed on your computer’s hard drive.

We use different types of cookies on the Website and the Portal:

(i.)  Persistent cookies, which help us recognize you as an existing user, so it is easier to return to the Website or the Portal or interact with our services without signing in again. In the event you sign up on the Website or the Portal, a persistent cookie stays in your browser and will be read by the service when you return to the Website or the Portal.

(ii.) Session cookies, which only last as long as the session (usually the current visit to the Website or the Portal or a browser session).

(iii.) Analytical cookies, which are used for anonymous user tracking, for analytics and to improve your user experience. The analytics provider (Matomo On-Premise, hosted by WNG,  [Privacy Protection]) assigns each user a unique numerical ID. All requests for pages are tagged with that ID, and by analyzing the log files, the analytics provider can determine how many unique users use the Website. The analytics provider does not know the identity of a person based on the ID. The cookies used by the analytics provider do not contain any Personal Data about you nor are they used to look up your Personal Data. Even if you have entered Personal Data about yourself in one of the registration forms, the analytics provider does not relate that information to the cookie data. The Website will usually not use analytical cookies but Our analytics provider use these cookies to gather statistics on usage and engagement and help the Foundation to improve user experience and deliver world-class engagement, knowledge and events.

You are free to decline the cookies if your browser or browser add-on allows, except if the cookies are required to prevent fraud or ensure the security of the Website. However, disabling the use of cookies will result in a less user-friendly experience of the Website.

7. How do we secure your Personal Data?

Building Bridges values the protection of your Personal Data. Any information we receive from you is handled with industry-standard security means and technologies in order to avoid incidents, such as loss, unauthorized access, improper use, destruction, disclosure or alteration. To all extent possible, all of the Foundation’s employees are made aware of their obligation to work in strict confidentiality when dealing/processing with your Personal Data. 

If you think that the Website or the Portal is not secure or that there has been unauthorized access to the Website, the Portal or your Personal Data, please contact us at the address provided under Section 10 below.

8. How long do we keep your Personal Data?

The conservation of your Personal Data will not exceed the period of time that is necessary to complete the purpose of its collection (see Section 3 above) and/or to provide the service you requested (which means for instance that we will not keep your Personal Data after an event you attended, except with your consent), unless a longer period of conservation is required in order to comply with our legal obligations, to resolve disputes or to enforce our agreements.

9. What about your data protection rights?

Subject to the local data protection laws which apply to your situation and other applicable regulations, you have the following rights:

• You may access any Personal Data stored about you in our records and obtain a copy.
• If you consider that any of your Personal Data collected through the Website or the Portal is incorrect, incomplete or confusing, you may request for the information to be completed or rectified. 
• You may also ask us to erase your Personal Data under certain legal conditions (for instance if the Personal Data is no longer relevant with regards to the initial purpose of collection).
• You may object to the processing of your Personal Data, ask us to restrict the processing of your Personal Data or request portability of your Personal Data under certain legal conditions.
• If your consent was required at some point for the processing of your Personal Data, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Such withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to such withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your Personal Data conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.  
• You have the right to file a complaint with a data protection authority about the collection and processing of your Personal Data by SFG.

In Switzerland, the competent data protection authority is:

The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC)
Feldeggweg 1
CH – 3003 Berne
www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html

If you require further information, or if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, please contact us at the address provided under Section 10 below.

10. Any questions about your data protection rights?

We take the protection of your Personal Data very seriously. In case of questions/concerns or complaints on this matter, please contact the Foundation at:

community@buildingbridges.org
Building Bridges
Avenue de la Praille, 50
1227, Carouge, Suisse