Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal data when you visit this website or apply to the Polarity open call.

1. Who we are

Polarity is an exploratory, foundation-incubated creative project. This website (thisispolarity.com, together with polarity.eu and thisispolarity.eu) (the “Website”) is owned and operated by the Evens Foundation, a public-benefit foundation with registered office at Frankrijklei 37 bus 12, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium, registered under company number 0445.135.671 (hereinafter “Evens Foundation”, “us”, “our”, or “we”).

At this stage, the Website hosts information about the Polarity project and the Polarity open call for content creators. It does not currently host user accounts, downloadable publications, or e-commerce features.

2. What personal data we collect

We collect different data depending on how you interact with the Website:

• Visitors: technical data collected automatically via cookies and similar technologies (e.g. IP address, browser type, pages visited, date and time of visit). See our Cookie Policy for full details.
• Open call applicants: name, email address, links to your social media channels and portfolio, a written pitch or content sample, and any other information you choose to include in your application (e.g. a short bio).
• General enquiries: if you contact us at polarity@evensfoundation.eu, we collect the information you provide in that message, including your name and email address.

3. Why we collect it and our legal basis

• To assess and respond to open call applications and, where relevant, to onboard selected creators into the Polarity creator network (legal basis: steps taken at your request prior to entering into an agreement, and/or our legitimate interest in running a fair and effective selection process).
• To respond to general enquiries sent to the Website's contact addresses (legal basis: legitimate interest / steps taken at your request).
• To understand how the Website is used and to improve its performance and content (legal basis: consent, obtained via our cookie banner, for non-essential cookies).
• To comply with our legal obligations, where applicable.

4. How long we keep your data

Open call application data is kept for the duration of the selection and evaluation process for the relevant round, and for a reasonable period afterwards in case of queries or a possible future round, after which it is deleted or anonymised. General enquiry correspondence is kept only as long as needed to handle and follow up on your query. Cookie-derived analytics data is retained according to the periods set out in our Cookie Policy.

5. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with:

• Evens Foundation staff and Polarity project collaborators involved in reviewing applications or running the creator network (e.g. editorial mentors), on a need-to-know basis.
• Service providers who host or support the Website on our behalf, such as our website hosting provider (WordPress.com / Automattic) and, where enabled, Google (for site analytics via Google Site Kit).
• Public authorities, where required by law.

Some of these providers may process data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Where this occurs, we rely on the safeguards provided by those providers (such as standard contractual clauses) to ensure your data remains protected.

6. Your rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you;
• Request correction of inaccurate data;
• Request erasure of your data;
• Request restriction of, or object to, our processing of your data;
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format;
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent;
• Lodge a complaint with a data protection authority, such as the Belgian Data Protection Authority (gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 9 below.

7. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Applicants who are minors

Polarity's content and creator network are aimed at a Gen Z audience, and some applicants or audience members may be under 18. Where an applicant is a minor, we may ask for confirmation of parental or guardian awareness before proceeding further in the selection process.

9. Contact and changes to this policy

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at polarity@evensfoundation.eu.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example as the Website's features develop beyond this first phase. The current version will always be available on this page.