Introduction

The APAC 2024 conference will be hosted by APAC member accreditation bodies located in the United Arab Emirates, including GCC Accreditation Center (GAC), Emirates International Accreditation Center (EIAC) and Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS). The hosts have collaborated in organizing this event, and participation in the meeting requires registration through this website. The hosts of APAC Annual Meeting 2024, and their respective parents, affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Hosts”, “we,” “us,” or “our”) are strongly committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. Please carefully read the following Privacy Policy (“Policy”). Any person accessing, browsing or otherwise using the APAC 2024 meeting Web site or online service or other service where this Policy is posted (collectively, the “Site”) either manually or via an automated device or program, shall be considered a “User.” This Policy explains the type of information that the hosts collect from our Users of the Site, what we do with that information, and with whom the Hosts share this information. The data controllers for your information include all of the above listed Host entities, who are located in their respective offices.

User Acknowledgment of Our Privacy Practices

By accessing, browsing or using the Site, Users acknowledge that they have read, understand, and agree to the terms and conditions of the Policy. Users agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of User information, including information collected from or about you or the device you use to access the Site (together “Information”) pursuant to the terms of this Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not access, browse, or use this Site or otherwise provide Information to APAC 2024 hosts.

The Information We Collect

Information You Provide

The Hosts may collect information when you use the Site or when you otherwise provide information to us. We may collect the name, phone and fax number, mailing and billing address, email address, payment card information (which is processed by third parties), and any other information provided by a User who contacts or interacts with us or any of the host representatives through the Site, via email or otherwise, such as when a User: (a) submits a registration application; (b) purchases a product through the Site; (c) submits Information through our forms; (d) provides Information to us outside of the Site; (e) engages in any other activity through the Site in which Information is provided to us.

We may also collect information you provide about your professional expertise, including your title, company name, and/or organization(s)/associations(s) to which you belong.

Automatically Collected Information

The Hosts and certain third parties that advertise or provide other services on the Site may automatically collect certain information about the computer or devices (including mobile devices) you use to access the Site when you use the Site or certain Site services, or click on advertisements on the Site. Hosts and their partners and service providers may collect and analyze the information about the devices that are used to access the Site. This information may include (a) IP addresses, geo-location information, unique device identifiers and other information about your mobile phone or other mobile device(s), browser types, browser language, operating system, the state or country from which you accessed the Site; and (b) information related to the ways in which you interact with the Site, such as: referring and exit pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages and content viewed and the order of those pages, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time you used the Site, the frequency of your use of the Site, error logs, and other similar information.

As explained further below, this information is collected passively through the use of certain electronic technologies, such as cookies, web beacons, pixels, clear GIFs, and similar technologies. We may use third-party analytics providers and technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting this information. As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather additional information through other methods.

Browser Cookies: We and certain third-party advertising partners may use “cookies.” Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your device. These cookies may be used: (a) to improve or enhance your experience using the Site; (b) to deliver content, including advertising, specific to your interests; and (c) for other purposes, such as security and administrative functions. For example, cookies are used to store your preferences for certain types of information so that you do not have to input those preferences every time you use the Site. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, though different browsers may address cookies differently. Your browser may enable you to set your device to accept all cookies, to notify you when a cookie is issued, or to not receive cookies at any time. If you set your browser to not accept cookies, it may result in certain personalized services or other features not being provided to you when you use that device.

Web Beacons, Pixels and Clear GIFs: We and our advertising partners may use web beacons, pixels and clear GIFs. These electronic technologies are transparent image files that, if used, allow us and our advertising partners to track Web site usage information, such as the number of times a given web page has been viewed and whether and when you have opened a HTML email, how many times the email was forwarded and which links in the email were clicked. Unlike cookies, these technologies do not place files on your device. We and our advertising partners use information collected through Web beacons, pixels, and clear GIFs to improve and enhance our Site and measure the effectiveness of these communications with you. These technologies may be used in association with cookies to understand how visitors interact with the Site or advertisements made by our advertising partners.

Information from Third Parties: We may obtain additional information about you from third parties such as marketers, partners, researchers, data brokers, clearinghouses, and others. We may combine Information that we collect from you with information that we obtain from such third parties and information derived from any other product or service we provide.

Aggregate or De-Identified Data: We may aggregate and/or de-identify information collected through the Site or via other means so that the data is not intended to identify you. Our use and disclosure of aggregated and/or de-identified data is not subject to any restrictions under this Policy, and we may disclose it to others without limitation for any purpose.

Manage Cookie Preferences

How We Use the Information

The Hosts use the information collected from its Users for the following purposes:

• For the purposes for which you provided it;
• To respond to Users’ questions and/or comments;
• To provide products, services or information to Users;
• To process a User’s purchase;
• To provide a User with details of his or her account status;
• To customize the advertising and content you see on the Site;
• To notify a User about new features of the Site, or products, services, special offers, or other information that we believe will be of interest to a User;
• To perform analytics and research used in marketing, promotion, or similar activities;
• To monitor Site performance and perform analytics and research aimed at improving the accuracy, effectiveness, usability, or popularity of the Site;
• To enforce the legal terms that govern a User’s use of the Site and otherwise establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others;
• To prevent fraud and other prohibited or illegal activities;
• To administer sweepstakes and contests;
• To ensure that we comply with applicable laws, procedures, and regulations which apply to use where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.

We may aggregate and/or de-identify any information collected through the Site. We may use de-identified and/or aggregated data for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with any third parties, including without limitation, advertisers, promotional partners, sponsors, event promoters, and/or others.

Legal Bases for Use of Your Information

The legal bases for using your information as set out in this Policy are as follows:

• Where use of your information is necessary to perform our obligations under a contract with you or in order to take steps at your request subject prior to entering into a contract; (for example, to comply with: our website user agreement, which you accept by browsing the websites/registering; and/or our contract to provide our Site to you); or
• Where use of your information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others (for example, to provide security for our website and applications; operate our business and our Site and its services; make and receive payments; customer service; marketing; analyze and improve our business; comply with legal requirements and defend our legal rights; prevent fraud and to know the customer to whom we are providing the Site and its services).
• Where required by law, and in some other cases, we handle your information on the basis of consent.

How We Share Your Information

How the Hosts share information collected in a particular situation will depend on factors including the nature of the information, the purpose and context of the collection, and applicable law. Subject to such factors, we may disclose information that we collect or receive for the purposes described above in the “How We Use Your Information” section and as described below.

• Consent/Action by Users:If hosts have a User’s consent to share any information, it may do so. We may also share a User’s information to provide that User with services or products that the User has requested.
• Agents and Vendors:We may utilize other companies and individuals to perform functions on its behalf, such as marketing, sending email to Users, processing credit card payments, fulfilling orders, delivering services, and providing customer service. These third parties have access to Information needed to perform their functions but may not use it for other purposes.
• Advertising and Analytics:As described in the section on Online Analytics and Tailored Advertising, we also may provide automatically collected information to third parties for purposes of delivering targeted advertisements and performing analytics.
• Protection of Hosts or Others:We may disclose your information to others if we have a good faith belief that we are required or permitted to do so by law or legal process, to respond to claims, to protect the rights, property or safety of Us or others, or take action regarding illegal activities or suspected fraud.
• Third Parties Providing Relevant and Valuable Products and Services:From time to time, we may share your information with other organizations that provide relevant and valuable products or services.

Online Analytics and Tailored Advertising

Online Analytics

We may use third-party web analytics services on our Site, such as those of Google Analytics. These service providers use the sort of technology described in Section 1.2 to help us analyze how users use the Site, including by noting the third-party Web site from which you arrive. The information (including your IP address) collected by the technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Site. We also use Google Analytics for certain purposes related to advertising, as described in the following section. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.

Dubai Do-Not-Track Disclosure Requirements

If we provide any information about you to third party information processors, we will take appropriate measures to ensure such companies protect your information adequately in accordance with this Policy. For more information about these transfer mechanisms, please contact us as detailed in the “How to Contact us” section below.

Data Subject Rights and Your Choices

You may change or correct inaccuracies to certain information collected from you by logging contacting us.

Depending on where you live, you have certain rights with respect to your information as further described in this section.

Your Legal Rights

If you would like further information in relation to your legal rights under applicable law or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us by emailing us at any time. Your local laws (e.g., in the EU) may permit you to request that we:

• Provide access to and/or a copy of certain information we hold about you;
• Prevent the processing of your information for direct-marketing purposes (including any direct marketing processing based on profiling);
• Update information which is out of date or incorrect;
• Delete certain information which we are holding about you;
• Restrict the way that we process and disclose certain of your information;
• Transfer your information to a third-party provider of services;
• Revoke your consent for the processing of your information;

We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period stated by applicable law. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances, which may include if we need to keep processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. We may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request.

Linked Internet Web Sites

The Site provides hyperlinks, which are highlighted words or pictures within a hypertext document, including advertisements that, when clicked, take you to another place within the document, to another document altogether, to another application not controlled by us, or to other Web sites not controlled by us. These hyperlinked Web sites may contain privacy provisions that are different from those provided herein. We are not responsible for the content or collection, use, or disclosure of information collected through these Web sites, and we expressly disclaim any and all liabilities related to such collection, use, or disclosure. We urge you to read the privacy and security policies of these third parties.

Children’s Privacy Protection

The Site is intended for general audiences and not for children under the age of 13. The Site is not directed towards children under 13 years of age, and We do not knowingly collect any information from children under 13 years of age through the Site. If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to submit information to us through the Site. If a child under 13 submits “personal information” (as defined by the United Emirates Child Digital Safety) through any part of Site without valid parental consent, and we become aware that the person submitting the information is a child, we will attempt to delete this information. We do not knowingly process data of the age of 16 without parental consent. If we become aware that we have collected data from the age of 16 without parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible. We also comply with other age restrictions and requirements in accordance with applicable local laws.

Security

We implement measures to protect information that it maintains. These measures vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect and store. However, no method of transmission over the internet or means of electronic or physical storage can be completely secure. Therefore, Hosts make no representations or warranties with regard to the sufficiency of its security measures, and any information transmitted to or through the Site is at your own risk.

We will notify you in accordance with applicable law in the event of a breach of the confidentiality or security of your information. We may notify you under such circumstances using the e-mail address(es) we have on record for you. You should also take care with how you handle and disclose your information. Please refer to the The United Emirate’s Government Portal for information about how to protect yourself against identity theft.

Amendments to Privacy Policy

We may occasionally update this Policy, as noted by the “effective date” at the end of the Policy. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy to stay informed about our collection, use, and disclosure of Information. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your acknowledge of this Policy and any updates.

How to Contact us

If you have any questions about this Policy, you may reach us here or email support@apac2024.com