This privacy policy will explain how Egalite uses the personal data we collect from you, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What data do we collect?

When you apply to become a member, we collect the following data from you:

• First and last name
• Email address
• EU institution that you work for
• Work location
• Information about you being a trainee

Furthermore, if you contact us, we collect your first and last name, email address and any other personal data which you disclose or which may be otherwise included in your message.

Any spontaneous inclusion of personal data under a special category is the responsibility of the data subject and by including any of these types of data the data subject is considered to provide his/her explicit consent to the processing, in accordance with Article 9(2)(a) of the GDPR

How do we collect your data?

You directly provide Egalite with the personal data we collect.

How will we use your data?

How we use your personal data can be divided into various purposes:

Administering your membership to Égalité, including your participation in the General Assembly

When becoming a member, Egalite receives the information you submit to us so that we can:

• Store this data in our membership list
• Use your name and email address to verify whether you are eligible to take part in the General Assembly, to send you information about the General Assembly and a ballot paper to elect the Egalite Board, and to include your name in preparatory documents for and decisions by the Assembly about you, in line with the procedures in our Articles of Association.
• Use your trainee status to make sure that you are not charged a membership fee
• Communicate with you about your membership status, for example to ask if you would like to remain a member when your membership is close to lapsing
• Reach out to verify whether the information we have on file is still accurate

This processing is based on Égalité’s legitimate interest.

Staying in touch and sending you newsletters

We use your email address, your institution and your work location to send you relevant newsletters containing information relating to our association’s activities and initiatives.

This processing is based on your consent.

Replying to your messages

When contacting us, Egalite collects your data so that we can reply to your message and follow up any requests you made in your message. This processing is based on Égalité’s legitimate interest.

How and how long do we store your data?

Egalite securely stores the data you submitted in its membership list. Access to the membership list is granted to Board members on a need-to-know basis, for the purposes listed above. Egalite will keep the data that you entered on the membership form for five years. Once this time period has expired and where you have not extended your membership, we will delete your data by removing the data from the membership list.

The documents relating to Égalité’s governance and decision-making are stored on servers within the EU. Égalité preserves the documents relating to decisions of the Assembly and Board meetings for five years to ensure its right to defend its decisions in case of challenges and to ensure continuity and auditability of the association and its functioning.

When you send us a message (for example, via our contact form) we do not keep your data longer than necessary to reply and follow up to your message or request. Our mailboxes are only accessible to a limited set of Board members tasked with replying to external messages.

In order to protect your personal data, we have put in place a number of technical and organisational measures. Technical measures include appropriate actions to address online security, risk of data loss, alteration of data or unauthorised access, taking into consideration the risk presented by the processing and the nature of the personal data being processed. Organisational measures include restricting access to the personal data solely to authorised persons with a legitimate need to know for the purposes of this processing operation.

What are your data protection rights?

Egalite would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:

The right to access – You have the right to request Egalite for copies of your personal data.

The right to rectification – You have the right to request that Egalite correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request Egalite to complete the information you believe is incomplete.

The right to erasure – You have the right to request that Egalite erase your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to withdraw your consent – You have the right to withdraw your consent for the processing of your personal data if this is given to us on the basis of your consent. The withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before you have withdrawn the consent.

The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that Egalite restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to Egalite’s processing of your personal data on ground relating to your particular situation.

The right to data portability – You have the right to request that Egalite transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us via our website’s contact form.

The right to complain to a supervisory authority – You also have the right to complain concerning our processing of your personal data. You will find the contact information for the relevant supervisory authority at the end of this policy.

Privacy policies of other websites

The Egalite website contains links to other websites. Our privacy policy applies only to our website, so if you click on a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.

Changes to our privacy policy

Egalite keeps its privacy policy under regular review and places any updates on this web page. You are also informed of updates to privacy policy.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about Egalite’s privacy policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us via our website’s contact form.

How to contact the appropriate authority – right to complain

Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that Egalite has not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner, you may contact the Belgian Data Protection Authority:

Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels, Email: contact@apd-gba.be