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PDC Privacy and Cookie Policy

PDC Data Privacy Statement

Last updated: May 21, 2018

It is the Professional Development Consortiums (PDC) utmost concern to constantly improve its services in order to best meet the needs of its audience and customers. To this end, PDC may collect and store certain information, including personal data of people like you. PDC takes the protection of your personal data very seriously in all of its business processes. This Data Protection Statement is meant to help you understand how data is collected, processed and stored to meet legal requirements and PDC’s data protection standards.

By providing personal data to PDC, you agree to be legally bound by and explicitly consent to this Data Protection Statement, as it may be amended from time to time. If you do not agree to this Data Protection Statement or cannot form a legally binding contract, PDC would not be able to process your personal data.

1. Scope of this Data Protection Statement

This Data Protection Statement applies to all services offered by PDC.

This Data Protection Statement does not apply to services offered by other companies or individuals. This Data Protection Statement does not cover the information practices of other companies and organizations who advertise PDC services or other digital assets that may contain a link.

2. Data collected and method of collection

2.1  In general

PDC collects general and personal data concerning you from:

  • when you provide your details to the PDC;
  • participants attending the PDC’s meetings and events; and
  • users of the PDC’s websites and third parties (such as online service provider or single sign on authority).

Following the reception of the data, an electronic profile is created in PDC’s database for each person or entity (the “Contact Profile”).

The Contact Profile may contain but is not limited to:

  • name;
  • gender;
  • date of birth;
  • address;
  • phone numbers;
  • email addresses;
  • organization or company of employment and/or job title;
  • field of activity and/or interest;
  • credit card references/numbers;
  • accommodation preferences; and
  • other communicated preferences;

 2.2  Cookies Policy

We use cookies on our Website. By continuing to browse our website or close the cookies banner, you consent to the use of cookies.

Our Cookies Policy explains what cookies are, how we use cookies, how third-­parties we may partner with may use cookies on the Service, your choices regarding cookies and further information about cookies.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of text sent by your web browser by a website you visit. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the Service or a third­-party to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the service more useful to you. Cookies can be “persistent” or “session” cookies.

How PDC uses cookies?

When you access our website, service providers may collect data of a technical nature in a variety of ways. We use cookies for the following purposes:

  • to enable certain functions of the website;
  • to provide analytics;
  • to store your preferences and personalize the content;
  • to improve the user experience;
  • to enable advertisements delivery, including behavioral advertising; and
  • to share on social networks.

We use both session and persistent cookies on the Service and we use different types of cookies to run the Service: ­

Essential cookies

We may use essential cookies to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts.

Third­-party cookies

In addition to our own cookies, we may also use various third­-parties’ cookies to report usage statistics of the Service, deliver advertisements on and through the Service, and so on.

What are your choices regarding cookies?

If you’d like to delete cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse cookies, please visit the help pages of your web browser:

Please note, however, that if you delete cookies or refuse to accept them, some features of the PDC website may not work properly, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.

Where can you find more information about cookies?

If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to decline the use of cookies. You can learn more about cookies and the following third­-party websites:

3. Purpose of data collection

PDC uses the data collected to provide, maintain, protect and improve the overall quality of its services. Data collection is also meant to protect PDC and its users. PDC does not collect more data than is necessary to fulfil such purposes.

In addition to creating Contact Profiles, PDC uses your data for the following purposes and for which you give your consent:

New products and services: With the goal of improving services and based on the data given to the PDC, we may send you additional information related to your current or future event(s) and/or trip(s). An example might be a list of restaurants near a specific hotel in the destination city or parking facilities at the departure airport.

Promotion and marketing: PDC may use your data to personalize your experience on the PDC website by presenting advertisements that are more relevant to you, to send you marketing communications that we believe may be of interest to you, including information about our services, case studies, thought leadership or whitepapers, blog updates, etc. For example, the PDC uses third party service providers to present services and offers tailored to the preferences and interests demonstrated by your online activity over time. The PDC may use your data for promotion and marketing purposes for the PDC. The PDC may use the data to analyze trends in order to propose other services to its clients, such as new events or other services.

Technical data: The PDC, or third parties instructed by the PDC, evaluate this data purely for statistical purposes and only in an anonymized form, in order to optimize the PDC’s website and increase user-friendliness, efficiency and safety. The PDC may in particular use technical data to measure the success of the PDC's marketing campaigns, compile statistics about the PDC website usage and response rates, and use aggregated personal data calculate the percentage of PDC users who have a particular telephone area code.

Other purposes: The PDC may use your data as we believe to be necessary or appropriate: (a) under applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence; (b) to comply with legal process; (c) to respond to requests from public and government authorities including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; (d) to enforce the PDC’s terms and conditions; (e) to protect the PDC’s operations; (f) to protect the PDC’s rights, privacy, safety or property, you or others; and (g) to allow the PDC to pursue available remedies or limit the damages the PDC may sustain.

The PDC will ask your consent before using data for a purpose other than those that are set out in this Statement subject to mandatory laws.

4. Duration of storage

General and personal data will be kept by the PDC only as long as reasonably necessary taking into consideration its need to answer queries or resolve problems, to provide improved and new services and to comply with legal requirements. The PDC will retain general and personal data during a maximum period of five years if no specific legal requirement. You may cancel/delete your PDC account by sending an email to info@pdclegal.org.

5. Location of storage and controller of data base

The Contact Profiles that the PDC maintains are stored in a cloud-based central database.

6. Your duties

You must ensure that the data you provide us with is:

  • correct;
  • accurate;
  • current;
  • truthful; and
  • compliant with any applicable laws.

In particular, since the PDC will mainly use email communications with you, you are required to notify us of any modification of your email address. Alternatively, you can directly update your Contact Profile.

7. Transfer and communication of data

You hereby agree and give your consent to PDC to transfer and communicate your data as follows:

  1. Transfer to third-parties: The PDC works with certain third parties to obtain support services in connection with meetings and event services and/or other services, such as emergency online booking services, hotel booking services, ground transportation requirements or airline ticket issuance, badge provider and, in some cases, personal data will be shared with these third parties in order to pursue the PDC’s mission and goals. The PDC may also transfer personal data to third parties at the request of its Clients. For example, for data consolidation or emergency tracking services. The PDC may transfer your data to third parties for promotion and marketing purposes as outlined above. The PDC may also transfer your data to a third-party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any portion of the PDC business, assets or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings). Prior to a transfer, third-parties (except for travel suppliers and authorized transfers such as within the EU) are required to sign a data transfer agreement with the PDC that requires them to follow the applicable data protection laws.
  2. Regulatory transfers: The PDC may be required by law to transfer data to governments and regulatory and/or supervisory authorities.

8. Security and organizational measures

To ensure the safety of your data on the PDC’s website and systems, the PDC has implemented appropriate technical, contractual, administrative, physical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from loss, destruction, unauthorized access, accidental or unlawful disclosure and manipulation. These measures are subject to continuous development in accordance with technological progress and are periodically reviewed to comply with all applicable privacy laws. However, we cannot and do not guarantee the security of your personal data and therefore cannot assume any liability in this respect.

Only authorized PDC staff, third party companies’ (i.e. service providers) staff or our PDC’s authorized staff (who have contractually agreed to keep all information secure) have access to your personal data. All PDC staff who have access to your personal data are required to adhere to the staff confidentiality regulations and all third-party employees who have access to your personal data have signed non-disclosure agreements. In addition, data transfer agreements are in place with third-party companies that have access to your personal data to make sure these data remain secure.

9. Your rights

In accordance with applicable data protection laws and regulations, you have a right to request access to, rectification of your Data, or restriction of processing, and to object to said processing, as well as the right to data portability to the extent applicable. Moreover, you have a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

Under certain conditions you also have the right to have your personal data that is stored by the PDC blocked and deleted, unless the PDC has to keep this data for legitimate business or legal purposes. For more information, you should contact info@pdclegal.org.

The PDC gives you many choices regarding it's use and disclosure of your personal data for marketing purposes. You may opt-out from receiving future electronic marketing messages from the PDC and request that we not share your personal data with unaffiliated third parties for their marketing purposes. The PDC will try to comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that if you opt-out as described above, the PDC will not be able to remove your personal data from the databases of unaffiliated third parties with which the PDC has already shared your personal data (i.e., to which we have already provided your personal data as of the date that we implement your opt-out request). Please also note that if you do opt-out of receiving marketing-related messages from the PDC, we may still send you important administrative messages, and you cannot opt-out from receiving administrative messages.

10. Changes

This statement may be revised and updated by the PDC from time to time to comply with statutory data protection and privacy laws. The PDC will post any statement changes on its website and, if the changes are significant, the PDC will send a notice to the e-mail address provided in your Contact Profile.

11. Contact

If you need further assistance, please contact info@pdclegal.org.