Privacy policy

Who we are

This policy explains how Athenae Initiative (Initiative Athènae), a non-profit organization in Québec, handles the personal information collected through this website, in line with Québec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Law 25). Contact details for the organization and for the person in charge of personal information protection are at the bottom of this page.

What we collect, and why

Forms (contact, volunteer, partnership, article pitch). We collect your name, email address, your message and, depending on the form, a few details (availability, areas of interest, an article’s title and summary, your organization’s name, pronouns if you choose to share them) and an optional file attachment. We use this only to answer your request and, where relevant, to organize your involvement (volunteering, collaboration or publication). It is sent by email to the Athenae team. Optional fields are marked as such: fill in only what seems useful.

Emails you send us. If you write to us directly, we keep your message and address so we can reply.

Donations. Donations are processed by our payment provider (Zeffy) on its own platform. We do not have access to your card details. The donation form loads only after you click, and Zeffy’s privacy policy then applies.

Spam check. Our forms use ALTCHA, a check that runs in your browser and on our server. It sets no cookie, does not track you and sends nothing to a third party.

Technical logs. Our host (Cloudflare) processes your IP address and browser technical data to deliver, protect and secure the site.

Cookies and tracking technologies

This site sets no tracking, analytics or advertising cookies and uses no Google Analytics, social network pixel or profiling tool. It does not locate or identify visitors.

One preference is kept in your browser (local storage) if you choose it: the reading theme (light page or night mode). It stays on your device and is never sent to us.

Videos or other external content embedded in articles load only after you click “Load”. The provider concerned may then set its own cookies.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell or rent personal information. We share it only with service providers that help us run the site:

• Cloudflare: site hosting and forwarding of emails sent to [email protected];
• Resend: sending your form messages to the team;
• Google (Gmail): receiving and storing team emails;
• Zeffy: processing donations, if you choose to donate.

Where your information is stored

These providers operate servers in Canada, the United States and elsewhere, so your information may be processed outside Québec. Before sharing anything, we assess the risks and make sure the provider offers adequate protection under a written agreement.

How long we keep it

We keep your messages and attachments as long as needed to handle your request, then for at most 24 months after our last exchange. After that they are deleted or anonymized. If you ask us to delete them sooner, we will, subject to our legal obligations.

Your rights

At any time you may:

• ask for access to the information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct or delete it;
• withdraw your consent to its use;
• ask to receive it, or have it sent to another organization, in a structured, commonly used technological format;
• ask us to stop disseminating your information or to de-index any link to it, where the law allows.

Write to the person in charge (details below). We reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you may file a complaint with the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (cai.gouv.qc.ca).

Minors

Our forms are not intended for people under 14. If you are under 14, please ask a parent or guardian to write to us for you. We do not knowingly collect information about children under 14 without the consent of the person with parental authority.

Confidentiality incidents

We keep a register of confidentiality incidents. If an incident presents a risk of serious injury, we notify the Commission d’accès à l’information and the people concerned.

Governance

Athenae has designated a person in charge of personal information protection. They oversee this policy, handle access requests and complaints, and make sure only team members who need your information see it. Form messages go to a protected team mailbox, and each form asks only for what it needs.

Changes

We may update this policy. The date of the latest version appears below.