Privacy Policy

The Ruya Foundation is an Iraqi registered non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 2012 with the aim of aiding and enriching culture in Iraq, and building cultural bridges with the world.

Ruya was officially registered by the Iraq Commission for Civil Society Enterprises (reg no. 1B75468).

Ruya is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website users and visitors which is why we have developed this privacy policy, which sets out our data collection and processing practices in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which takes place from 25 May 2018.

The data we collect

The Foundation will collect basic personal data, such as name, job title, organisation, postal and email address. This information is processed if the data subject has provided their consent, or if we deem the processing necessary for pursuing the legitimate interests of our organisation. This type of data is held no longer than is necessary to perform our objectives, or until the individual asks to be removed.

Data given to us directly by you – email and postal

Ruya collects personal identifiable information that is voluntarily provided to us in person at events, through email communications or by visitors to our website. The purpose of using this data is to send our subscribers monthly communications about the work we are doing and information about and invitations to our public events. Our e-newsletters are delivered by a third-party provider who complies with the GDPR guidelines. By providing this personal data to us either via the website, by email or in person and opting in, visitors are consenting to our use of their personal data. If you consent to receiving our newsletter, announcements and invitations, any information we use for this purpose will be held by us until you tell us you no longer wish to receive this information.

Should any subscriber subsequently choose to unsubscribe from the mailing list, we provide clear and easy instructions on the email specifying how to do this.

All members of the postal database have the ability to be removed at all times. They can at any time ‘return to sender’ which is clear on all envelopes or they can be in touch with the Foundation or on [email protected] and request to be removed from the database. All postal addresses which are returned by Royal Mail (ie people who have moved) are removed from the database.

Databases kept are:

Ruya Foundation monthly email and postal central database
Ruya Foundation artist database of Iraqi artists
Ruya Foundation information assistant/casual job list (translators, editors, gallery technicians)
Ruya Foundation book distribution database (organisations and individuals who receive copies of our Ruya Notebooks projects.)

Database of Iraqi artists

Ruya holds a database of Iraqi artists working in Iraq and in the diaspora. We continually strive to promote these artists through collaborative efforts with cultural institutions globally. The data that we hold privately includes basic personal data, such as name, job title, organisation, postal and email address, a CV or artist’s portfolio, as well as images and links to the artist’s work. In most cases this data was voluntarily provided to us by the data subjects. We have also received personal data from organisations, such as galleries, who work closely with the artists.

In April 2016, a portion of this database was made publicly accessible, as an online research tool. Only artists who consented to having their artist profiles made public appear on this public database. Each public entry includes the subject’s preferred name, current country of residence and information related to their artistic work and career.

Artists can request to amend or remove their profile and data from the public and private databases at any time.

Data publicly available

This may include individuals who hold public office roles, funders and potential partners for our exhibitions, educational projects and events. The legal basis for processing this information is legitimate interest as we deem the use of their data necessary to fulfil our charitable objectives. This information is processed after we have conducted a balancing test which determines that our interests as an organisation do not override the individual’s interests, rights and freedoms. This type of data is held no longer than is necessary to perform our objectives, or until the individual asks to be removed.

Data processed under contractual obligation

Data kept under contractual obligation includes basic personal information from our sponsors, funders and suppliers in order for us to provide our services. It is kept for a minimum of 6 years. After this time it will be destroyed if it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was obtained.

Sharing your personal data
We do not share any contact details with partners we work with unless the member of the public specifically opts in to allow this to happen. For example, if we are hosting an event by a festival and Ruya is managing the events and tickets are booked via Ruya, we will ask not only if you would like to opt in to Ruya’s email and mailing list, but also if you would like to opt in to the festival’s email and mailing list.

Security
Ruya has appropriate IT safeguards to ensure that its data is kept secure in encrypted storage. Our employees are instructed to follow the Foundation’s internal security policy, which include measures preventing the loss, destruction, misuse and unauthorised disclosure of any personal data kept on our database.

Individual Rights
Any individual can request to see the information we hold on them at any time. If you believe the information we hold on you is incorrect, you will have the right to have this rectified or deleted accordingly.

A full list of an individual’s rights under GDPR is as follows:
1. The right to access the personal data we hold on you
2. The right to correct and update the personal data we hold on you
3. The right to have your personal data erased
4. The right to object to processing of your personal data
5. The right to data portability
6. The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time for any processing of personal data to which consent was sought.
7. The right to object to the processing of personal data where applicable.
8. The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office. You can contact the Information Commissioners Office via email, on 0303 123 1113, or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

If you would like to contact us to ask about your data, have questions or you do not feel that your concerns have been addressed in our privacy statement, please do not hesitate to contact us by email at [email protected]

Cookies

Data collected when you visit our website
A Cookie is a small component of data a website stores on your PC which considers information about your navigation on that website. Cookies are used by us to get statistics on the use of our site through its users. This is done by analysing data such as the amount of time spent on each page and most visited pages. The data helps us to improve the quality of the website.
www.ruyafoundation.org uses Google Analytics cookies to help us analyse how visitors use our site. To opt out of Google Analytics cookies, please go to: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Third party links
A number of other organisations’ websites have links on our site. If you link to their sites, they may collect information in accordance with their own privacy policies. Such sites are not within our control and are not covered by this privacy policy.

For further information about cookies see the Information Commissioner’s Office advice.