Policies and Procedures
Explore this space to gain insights into our policies and procedures, designed to guide our practices
SARS-COV-2 and Program Activities
Updated: May 23, 2023
This policy applies to any Participants whose engagement with Cultural Vistas involves “in-person” activities, such as traveling domestically or internationally; meeting within groups; attending or speaking at conferences, seminars, or events; completing practical training or community service; organizing events in their communities; attending higher education or language courses; living in accommodations with shared spaces; participating in interviews; etc. – collectively the “Program Activities”. The Participant acknowledges that this agreement does not create an employment relationship with Cultural Vistas.
Since travel and assembling with other individuals while engaging in Cultural Vistas Program Activities includes inherent risks, including the risk of infection and spreading disease, Cultural Vistas Participants are required to take all precautions against the spread of illnesses caused by epidemics, pandemics, and endemics while participating in the Cultural Vistas Program Activities.
This includes adhering to all laws and recommendations by public health officials in the country/location of the Program Activities as well as to adequate and legal recommendations by host institutions (such as host companies, host families etc.) and Cultural Vistas staff, including but not limited to wearing a medical grade mask of the N95/KN95/FFP2 standard, following minimum distancing requirements, and obtaining recommended vaccinations. Failure to adhere to such laws and recommendations by public health officials may result in suspension or termination of participation in the Cultural Vistas Program Activities.
Non-Discrimination Policy
The provision of all services, benefits, and programs of Cultural Vistas shall be made without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, age, religion, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, alienage, or citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
Copyright Policy
The site and all content, except where noted, are the copyright of Cultural Vistas, the service mark of Cultural Vistas, Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and may not be used or reproduced without expressed written consent of the organization
Privacy Policy
Cultural Vistas collects personal data, defined as any information relating to an identified or identifiable person, through its website.
We collect any information provided by you when you visit our website, including: (a) your name; (b) your mailing address; (c) your email address; (d) your telephone number; (e) your sex; (f) your date of birth; (g) your country of citizenship; (h) your country of residency; (i) your country of birth; (j) the names, sex and dates of birth of any dependents; (k) your occupation; (l) your educational history; (m) the anticipated amount of personal funds available to you during the course of an internship; (n) proof of insurance, and any other information you choose to provide us. Additionally, if you are given the option to have information password protected, that password will be part of your personal data.
We also use cookies and similar technology to collect personal and non-personal data, such as: (i) information from server logs found on your browser; (ii) click‐through statistics; (iii) your IP address and country; (iv) the type of web browser you are using to access this website; (v) the type of operating system you are using; (vi) the name of the domain and host from which you access the Internet; (vii) the date and time you access this website and the duration of your visit; and (viii) the Internet address of the site from which you linked directly to this website.
We may combine information that you provide to us with other information that is publicly available or that we receive from other sources.
The provision of personal data is sometimes required by law and at other times is a result of a contractual requirement. You may be required to provide personal data, for example in a case where we sign a contract with you or where you sign an employee agreement, and the non-provision of personal data could, in certain circumstances, prevent a transaction from concluding. In other scenarios, we are required to collect data for legal compliance purposes, such as for compliance with immigration laws.
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To assess applicants and administer Cultural Vistas programs;
- To enhance the performance and functionality of the website;
- To deliver products and services you request
- To respond to your inquiries, or contact you as you request;
- To advertise and market our products and services, including through email;
- To process your donations and applications;
- For Cultural Vistas’ internal business purposes, including for analytics purposes;
- To protect the security of our interests, including our premises, assets, and systems;
- To comply with the law including compliance with immigration laws;
- To solicit donations; or
- As otherwise disclosed at the time personal data is collected.
We do not use automatic decision-making or engage in automated profiling.
Where we intend to use or otherwise process your personal data for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was collected, we will provide you with information regarding the purpose for the processing, as well as other relevant information, prior to processing your personal data for the new purpose.
We may share your personal data with the following third parties:
- Our host and program partners, and education institutions who serve as host schools;
- Immigration attorneys and other professional service providers who assist applicants with legal compliance;
- Third party vendors who process data on behalf of Cultural Vistas, such as email service providers, web hosting providers, survey hosts, interview platform hosts, mass communication service providers, payment processors and program application hosts;
- Our affiliates (such as travel, housing, transportation, and hotel vendors, health insurance companies and providers, program funders, selection committees, U.S. and foreign governments, programming organizations, and alumni organizations) to offer our services to you consistent with the purposes identified in this privacy notice, including the marketing of Cultural Vistas products and services;
- In connection with a merger, sale, or acquisition or other transfer involving all or part of Cultural Vistas or as part of a corporate reorganization, stock sale or other change of control of all or part of our assets, including as part of a bankruptcy proceeding;
- Pursuant to a subpoena, court order or other legal process, or as otherwise required by law, or to protect our rights or the rights of third parties; and/or
- With your consent or as otherwise disclosed at the time of data collection or sharing.
We may share information that has been anonymized or aggregated without limitation.
The website may provide links to third-party websites and tools, including our social media pages as well as our payment processing vendor. We do not control the privacy practices of those websites, and they are not covered by this privacy notice. You should review the privacy notices of other websites that you use to learn about their data practices.
The website may also include integrated social media tools or “plug-ins,” such as social networking tools offered by third parties. If you use these tools to share personal information or you otherwise interact with these features on the website, those companies may collect information about you and may use and share such information in accordance with your account settings, including by sharing such information with the general public. Your interactions with third-party companies and your use of their features are governed by the privacy notices of the companies that provide those features. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy notices of any accounts you create and use.
International Visitors
On certain occasions, we process your personal data when it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, such as to provide services to you. We may also process your personal data to respond to your inquiries concerning our products and services.
On other occasions, we process your personal data where required by law. These include immigration purposes, including visa processing. We may also process your personal data if necessary to protect your interests or the interests of a third party.
Additionally, we process your personal data when necessary to do so, to effectuate the following legitimate interests:
- Carrying out direct marketing;
- Making applicant determinations;
- Performing program administration;
- Utilizing service providers;
- Conducting hiring and human resources functions;
- Advocacy and corporate engagement; and
- Hosting events.
These legitimate interests are not overridden by your data protection rights. Where we process your personal data for these purposes, our legitimate interest is to carry out our activities in furtherance of the well-being of all our employees and program participants.
If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no statutory basis for such processing, we will ask for your consent to process your personal data. You have the right to withdraw your consent to processing of personal data at any time.
If you wish to exercise the right to withdraw consent, contact Cultural Vistas’ Director of IT at privacy@culturalvistas.org. Visit the “Contact Us” section below for contact information.
Please be aware that the personal data we collect may be transferred to and maintained on servers or databases located outside your state, province, country, or other jurisdiction, where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your location. If you are located outside of the United States, please be advised that we process and store personal data in the United States and your consent to this privacy notice represents your agreement to this processing.
You have a right to the following:
- To request access to the personal data we hold about you;
- To request that we rectify or erase your personal data;
- To request that we restrict or block the processing of your personal data;
- Under certain circumstances, to receive personal data about you that we store and transmit to another without hindrance from us, including requesting that we provide your personal data directly to another, i.e., a right to data portability; and
- Where we previously obtained your consent, to withdraw consent to processing your personal data.
To exercise these rights, contact Director of IT at privacy@culturalvistas.org. See the “Contact Us” section below. Please be aware that Cultural Vistas may be unable to afford these rights to you under certain circumstances, such as if we are legally prevented from doing so.
Additionally, you have the right to lodge a complaint against us. To do so, contact the supervisory authority in your country of residence.
At any time, you are entitled to request access to, and make corrections to, your personal data we have collected via this website. If you apply to a Cultural Vistas program, you will be able to update, change, or delete personal data. If you no longer wish for us to process your personal data in accordance with your application, you may contact Cultural Vistas using the point of contact information that you received during the application process or in the “Contact Us” section below and request that Cultural Vistas remove your personal data from our database. Please note that modification of your application status will not stop marketing or advertising content that is ready to be mailed or is queued for transmission to you prior to the time when we can remove your personal data or modify your “opt‐in” status.
You can opt-out from receiving information from us that you previously requested or agreed to receive by contacting us as provided in the “Contact Us” section below and communicating your desire to opt-out.
However, during the pendency of your application to a Cultural Vistas program and also during the course of any program in which you may participate, you may not opt-out of communication with Cultural Vistas.
Once you have completed a Cultural Vistas program, you will be considered part of our ‘alumni’ and you will regularly receive ‘alumni’ emails from Cultural Vistas. You may opt‐out from receiving further emails by clicking a link at the bottom of any ‘alumni’ email that you receive. Once you have opted‐out from Cultural Vistas ‘alumni’ emails, new emails cannot be sent to your email address.
- Updates: We may change this privacy notice from time to time by posting updated versions of the privacy notice on this website and providing notice of changes via email to those that have provided their email address. We encourage you to visit this page periodically to learn of updates.
- Security: Cultural Vistas, its affiliates and authorized third parties employ reasonable measures, including administrative, technical, and physical measures, to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, alteration, use, or disclosure.
- Retention: We will process and store your personal data only for the period necessary to achieve the purpose of the storage, or as permitted by law. The criteria used to determine the period of storage of personal data is the respective statutory retention period or as long as necessary to fulfill the original basis for collecting and processing the personal data unless it is being used for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes. After expiration of that period, the corresponding data is routinely deleted, as long as it is no longer necessary for the fulfillment of a contract or the initiation of a contract.
If you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding this privacy notice, please contact us:
Cultural Vistas
Attn: Director of IT
1250 H Street NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
privacy@culturalvistas.org
To contact us to opt‐in or opt‐out of receiving information from us as described in “Your Choices” please email us at privacy@culturalvistas.org.
Arbitration Agreement
The Parties agree that arbitration is the required and exclusive forum for the resolution of any and all disputes between them. Any claim or controversy of whatever nature, including but not limited to tort and contract claims, claims arising under common law or based upon any federal, state or local statute, law, order, ordinance or regulations, and claims arising out of any relationship before, at the time of entering, during the term of, or upon or after expiration or termination of this agreement, and the issue of arbitrability, arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach thereof, shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration. This mandatory arbitration provision includes any dispute between the Client* and Cultural Vistas and its current and former officers, directors, employees and agents.
Any covered dispute must be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the rules of the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, except as otherwise provided in this agreement. Any such arbitration will be conducted in the State of New York, and will be decided in accordance with and determined by the laws of the State of New York and/or applicable federal law. The arbitrator shall not have the authority to award punitive damages or any other damages not measured by the prevailing party’s actual damages, and may not award costs or attorneys’ fees to either Party except where expressly provided for by the applicable law.
The Parties are prohibited from disclosing the existence, content, or results of the arbitration without the prior written consent of the other party or parties, unless the disclosure is otherwise required by court order.
Each Party shall bear its own costs and expenses. The resolution of any dispute achieved through such arbitration shall be final, binding and enforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction.
*For this agreement, “client” means any business, its current or former officers, directors, employees, and agents, and any participant, former, current or otherwise in process of application, engaged with Cultural Vistas’ programs.
Cultural Vistas’ ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Certification
Cultural Vistas is a staunch advocate for the data privacy of our clients, participants, and stakeholders. In 2021, we formally solidified the trust others put into our organization by achieving an ISO 27001 Information Security Certification.
ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is the international standard for best practices in Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). This standard requires rigorous business controls and management processes to ensure information security and business risks are identified, evaluated, and managed for the benefit and continuity of the business. Risks are comprehensively evaluated based on the impact on Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of business and information assets.
Cultural Vistas is certified by an independent accredited certification body, DEKRA, that performed stage 1 and stage 2 audits on the ISMS. The certification process measures adherence to the standard and identifies opportunities for improvement.
International best-practice standards in place at Cultural Vistas include these and other areas:
- Information Security Policies
- Organization of Information Security
- Human Resource Security
- Asset Management
- Access Control
- Cryptography
- Physical and Environmental Security
- Operations Security
- Communications Security
- System Acquisition, Development, and Maintenance
- Supplier Relations
- Information Security Incident Management
- Information Security Aspects of Business Continuity
- Compliance
In addition, Cultural Vistas is GDPR compliant and similarly aligned with provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the following ways:
- Right to be forgotten/right to erasure
- Right to know about data usage
- Right to access personal data
- Right to opt-out
- Right to portability
With ongoing infrastructure investments, Cultural Vistas will be a trusted leader in data protection, privacy, and security. We look forward to leveraging this achievement to grow our relationships as trusted partners with clients and stakeholders.
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