1. Introduction

EFFAT (hereinafter “we”) attaches great importance to respect for privacy. That is why we take all appropriate measures to protect your personal data, processing it in strict compliance with privacy legislation, in complete transparency.

The purpose of this privacy statement is to inform you, in the most complete and straightforward way possible, about how we treat your personal data when you use our website, participate in an event we organise or when you contact us in any way.

Please read this document in its entirety in order to be aware of the personal data we collect and how we collect it, the purposes for which we use it, the persons to whom we may transfer it, the length of time it is kept and how to exercise your rights with regard to this data.

EFFAT is responsible for processing the personal data with which you provide us.

2. What data do we collect about you and how do we collect it?

When you use our website or contact us by post, telephone, email, fax or social media, or when you participate in one of our events, we may collect certain personal data about you:

• Data provided voluntarily by you: we collect and process personal data with which you supply us yourself via our website or when you communicate with us by any other means such as e-mail, online form, letter or telephone call.

During our interactions with you, we collect the following personal data:

Identification data (e.g. your surname and first name, email address, telephone number, IP address, etc.); Professional data (e.g. organisation for which you work, professional email address, etc.); Demographic data (e.g. your age, gender, nationality, language); Information on food preferences (e.g. vegetarian meals, food allergies, etc.).
The data we collect via cookies when you visit our website: the EFFAT website uses cookies which collect data relating to your browsing and use of our website.
The data we collect when you participate in one of our events: when you attend an event organised by EFFAT, we may take pictures or videos in which you appear.

3. Why and on what legal basis do we process your personal data?

We use your data for various purposes, which we detail below. For each processing operation, only data relevant to the purpose in question shall be processed. We collect your data for the following purposes:

Processing your request: when you send us a request and share your details with us for this purpose, we use your data to respond. In accordance with data protection, we have a legitimate interest in contacting you.
Sending newsletters: when you subscribe to EFFAT newsletters, you give us your consent to collect certain data – your surname, first name and email address – in order to send you those newsletters. If you no longer wish to receive our newsletters, you can withdraw your consent at any time via the link integrated directly into the newsletter.
Event management: when you register for and participate in one of the events we organise, we process some of your personal data based on our legitimate interest in managing/organising our events. More precisely, we process your data in this context to: § Manage and account for participants at our events. § Contact you in relation to the event you are attending. § Perform statistical analysis on participants at our events. § Provide you with a meal that suits your food preferences. § Take photos and videos in which you may appear in the background to promote the event and future editions, and publish them on our website, intranet and social media. You have the right to request the removal of these photos. You can do this by sending an e-mail to effat@effat.org with your surname, first name and the title of the event in question, as well as a clear description of the photo or video you wish to be removed.

4. With whom do we share your personal data?

Your personal data is only used for purposes strictly limited to EFFAT’s services, we store your data within our organisation, and we do not share it with third parties for commercial purposes.

5. How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep your data for no longer than the legal limitation period and in accordance with any other retention period that may be required by law. If the law does not prescribe a specific retention period, we determine the period on the basis of the purpose for which the data was collected. We do not keep your data longer than necessary to accomplish this function. Finally, since your data is collected on the basis of your consent, we will stop using it should you withdraw your consent.

6. How do we protect your personal data?

We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality and security of your personal data. To this end, we have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access, loss, destruction, misuse, alteration or disclosure of your data. For example:

We have chosen and developed good quality computer applications, configured to protect your personal data;
We use generally accepted technical measures that adequately protect personal data in our systems;
We ensure that your data is not accessible to unauthorised persons;
We carry out periodic back-ups and store your data on secure servers.

7. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?

In accordance with data protection legislation, you have, under certain well-defined conditions, different rights with regard to your personal data:

Right of access: you have the right to obtain information about the processing of your personal data, to access it and to receive a copy;
Right of rectification: if you notice that your data is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to rectify it;
Right to erase (“right to forget”): in certain circumstances, you have the right to ask us to delete your data;
Right to limit processing: in some cases, you may request a limitation on the processing of your data, in which case your data will no longer be processed (but will be kept);
Right to opt out: although our processing of your data will be in accordance with legitimate professional interest, you have the right to request on special, personal grounds that we do not proceed. However, please be aware that, under these circumstances, we may present you with legitimate justification for processing your data, whereupon we will continue to do so;
Right to data portability: the data with which you have provided us can, upon request, be delivered to you, or directly by us to another controller, in a structured and interoperable format, provided that this is technically possible.

These rights are free of charge and can be exercised at any time.

If you wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at the following email address: effat@effat.org

You have the right to contact the Data Protection Authority in the event of complaints about the processing of your personal data, or when you are convinced that such processing is in breach of the law. We encourage you to contact us first to find a solution.

8. How do we use cookies on our website?

When you use our website, cookies will be placed on your computer. A cookie is a small file sent by our server to the hard drive of your computer, tablet or smartphone that identifies your browser and collects certain personal data (including your IP address and geolocation).

Our website uses cookies for functional and analytical purposes, namely:

Strictly necessary cookies: these are ‘session cookies’ that are necessary for the proper functioning of our website because they allow the user to browse our website, use its features and access secure areas with full functionality. If these cookies are disabled, your use of our website will not be optimal;
Preferred cookies: these cookies are used to customize the site according to your personal preferences, for example by retaining for your next visit your choice of language in order to make your use of the site as easy as possible.

If you so wish, you can disable the use of cookies in your browser. However, if you do, our website will not function as smoothly for you.

9. Our presence on social networks

EFFAT has an active organisation page on Facebook and Twitter. The purpose of these pages is only to inform users about EFFAT news. If you send us personal data via a social network, your data is only processed to answer your question and/or to respond to your request.

We also draw your attention to the fact that when you visit our Facebook or Twitter page, cookies are usually set by the social network in question on your device. These cookies record your browsing behaviour and interests. The personal data collected by these cookies is then used for statistical analysis and marketing purposes (specifically, targeted advertisements that are supposed to correspond to your interests).

EFFAT has no access to the personal data collected by social networks, nor any control nor influence over how it is processed. Consequently, we would like to inform you that for any question concerning the processing of your data by these social networks, or to exercise your rights in relation to your data, you must address these points to the relevant social network/s. Since only the social networks have access to and control over the personal data collected via the EFFAT organisation page on their respective platform, only they can take the necessary measures.

For more information about the processing of your personal data by social networks, please consult their privacy statements or contact the relevant social network directly:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/en/privacy

10. How can I stay informed of changes to this privacy statement?

This privacy statement is subject to change over time. We therefore invite you to consult regularly the latest online version of this declaration. The date of most recent changes can be found on this page.
11. How to contact us about this privacy statement?

If you have any questions about the processing of your personal data or comments regarding this privacy statement, please contact us:

By letter addressed to EFFAT, Avenue Louise 130A, 1050 Brussels (using the heading “Data Protection”)
By e-mail to effat@effat.org (with the subject line “Data Protection”).