Privacy Policy

International Association of Forest Kindergartens (IAFK)
Last updated: April 2026

Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy explains how the International Association of Forest Kindergartens ("IAFK", "we", "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you visit our website (forestkindergartens.world) or interact with us. It is written in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Slovenian data protection law.

1. THE DATA CONTROLLER for your personal information is:

International Association of Forest Kindergartens (IAFK)
Pregljeva 9, Maribor, Slovenia
Website: https://forestkindergartens.world
Email: info@forestkindergartens.world

2. WHAT PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT

2.1. Data you provide to us
- Your name and email address, when you complete a contact form or send us a message.
- Your name and email address, when you subscribe to our newsletter or mailing list.
- Any additional information you choose to include in a message or membership enquiry.

2.2. Data collected automatically
- Usage and analytics data — pages visited, time on site, referring URLs, and general geographic region (country/city level), collected through Google Analytics. IP addresses are anonymised before processing.
- Technical data — browser type, operating system, and device type (collected via Google Analytics).
- Cookie identifiers see — Section 6 (Cookie Policy) for full details.

3. HOW AND WHY WE USE YOUR DATA

We process your personal data only for specific, lawful purposes:

Purpose: Responding to your enquiries or contact form messages
Data used: Name, email, message content
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) — Performance of a contract / pre-contractual steps

Purpose: Sending newsletters and updates about IAFK activities
Data used: Name, email address
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) — Your consent

Purpose: Analysing website traffic to improve our content and services
Data used: Anonymised usage and analytics data
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) — Your consent (via cookie banner)

Purpose: Complying with legal obligations
Data used: Any data as required by law
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(c) — Legal obligation

4. WHO WE SHARE YOUR DATA WITH

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with trusted third parties only where necessary:

Analytics provider — Google LLC (Google Analytics):
Used to measure and analyse website traffic. Google Analytics is configured with IP anonymisation. Data may be processed in the United States under Google's Standard Contractual Clauses. You may opt out via your cookie preferences or the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Newsletter delivery — Email service providers:
We may use an email delivery service (such as Mailchimp or a similar provider) to send newsletters. These providers process your name and email address solely for this purpose and under data processing agreements.

Legal requirements — Competent authorities:
Where required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of individuals.

5. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR DATA

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law:
- Contact form / enquiry data is retained for up to 2 years after your last interaction, then securely deleted.
- Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send.
- Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months (our configured retention period), after which it is automatically deleted by Google.
- Any data we are required to keep by law (e.g., tax or contractual records) will be held for the statutory period.

6. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE GDPR

As a data subject within the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data (the "right to be forgotten").
- Right to Restriction: You can ask us to limit how we process your data in certain circumstances.
- Right to Object: You can object to us processing your data for direct marketing or legitimate interests.
- Right to Data Portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format to transfer elsewhere.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@forestkindergartens.world. We will respond within 30 days.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Slovenia, this is:
Informacijski pooblaščenec (Information Commissioner of Slovenia)
Website: www.ip-rs.si
Email: gp.ip@ip-rs.si
Phone: +386 1 230 97 30

7. COOKIE POLICY

Our website uses cookies — small text files placed on your device — to ensure the site functions correctly and to help us understand how visitors use it.

When you first visit our website, a cookie consent banner will ask for your permission before any non-essential cookies are set. You have two options:"
- Accept all cookies by clicking the "Accept" button.
- Decline all non-essential cookies by clicking the "Deny" button. Only strictly necessary cookies will be set.

8. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

IAFK is based in Slovenia, within the European Union. However, some of our third-party service providers (including Google) may process data outside the EEA. Where this occurs, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, to protect your data to the same standard as within the EU.

9. DATA SECURITY

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These include:
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS / TLS) for all data transmitted to and from our website.
- Access controls limiting who within IAFK can access your personal data.
- Regular review of our data practices and third-party data processor agreements.

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to affect your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours and inform you as soon as reasonably practicable, as required by GDPR Article 33–34.

10. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our website is intended for adults — educators, researchers, policymakers, and parents interested in forest kindergartens. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 16 without verifiable parental consent. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data without appropriate consent, please contact us at info@forestkindergartens.world and we will promptly delete such data.

11. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this document and, where changes are significant, notify you by email or through a prominent notice on our website.

Your continued use of the website after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your rights, or want to raise a concern about our data practices, please get in touch: info@forestkindergartens.world