Privacy and Data Statement

The International Association of Healthcare Clowning (IAHC) is an international non-governmental organisation in formation, operating under the domain therapeuticclowning.org. We are building the first global professional body for healthcare clowning practitioners, educators, and organisations.

For all privacy-related enquiries, contact us at: [email protected]

At this stage of our formation, IAHC does not operate a membership portal, payment system, or user account system. We collect only the following:

• Contact enquiries: When you email us at [email protected], we receive your name, email address, and the content of your message.
• Website analytics (if enabled): We may collect anonymised, aggregated data about page visits (e.g. pages viewed, browser type, country of origin) to understand how the site is used. No personally identifiable information is collected through analytics.
• Organisation submissions: If you submit your organisation for inclusion in our global directory, we collect the organisation name, country, website URL, and a brief description. This information is published publicly on the site.

We do not collect payment information, health data, or any special category data as defined under GDPR.

We use the information we collect only for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry or message
• To review and publish organisation directory submissions (with your consent)
• To understand how the website is being used and improve it
• To communicate with prospective founding board members or founding members who have expressed interest

We do not use your information for automated decision-making, profiling, or marketing without your explicit consent.

For individuals in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom, we process personal data under the following legal bases as defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

For individuals in Canada, IAHC complies with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy legislation.

• We collect only the personal information necessary for the identified purposes.
• We obtain your consent, either express or implied, before or at the time of collection.
• You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions.
• We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfil the stated purposes.
• You have the right to access your personal information held by IAHC and to challenge its accuracy.

To exercise your rights under PIPEDA, contact our Privacy Officer at [email protected].

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.

We may share information with trusted service providers who assist us in operating this website (for example, hosting infrastructure). These providers are contractually bound to process data only on our instructions and in accordance with applicable privacy law.

Organisation directory data submitted for public listing is published on this website and is therefore publicly accessible. If you wish to have your organisation's listing amended or removed, contact us at [email protected].

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. If you are in the EEA or UK and are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected:

• Email enquiries: retained for up to 2 years from the date of last correspondence, then deleted.
• Organisation directory submissions: retained indefinitely while the listing remains active; deleted promptly upon request.
• Analytics data: anonymised and aggregated; no individual retention period applies.

This website may use essential cookies required for the site to function correctly (for example, session management). We do not currently use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party marketing cookies.

If we introduce non-essential cookies in the future, we will update this policy and implement a cookie consent mechanism in compliance with applicable law.

As IAHC develops from a formation-stage organisation into a fully operational NGO, our data practices will evolve. We will update this Privacy and Data Statement accordingly and note the date of the most recent revision at the top of this page.

Continued use of this website after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. For significant changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify affected individuals directly.

For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy and Data Statement or our data practices, please contact us:

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom and believe we have not adequately addressed your concern, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (e.g. the ICO in the UK, or the relevant national DPA in your EU member state). If you are in Canada, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.