Privacy Policy

Alghochak (الغوچک) is a volunteer-led community interest organisation (CIC) based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. As an organisation working toward full registration with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI), we ensure that your personal data is handled securely, transparently, and in full compliance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website, register for our programs, or interact with us.

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

• Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and postal address (e.g., when you fill out a form on our "Get In Touch" page).

• Membership and Program Registration Data: Information submitted via our membership registration forms or when booking onto one of our 15 individual programme calendars (such as youth outings, women's workshops, or language classes).

• Media and Assets: Photographs or videos taken during community events, which are only published or shared on our website and social media platforms with your explicit consent.

• Technical Data: Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, and usage data collected automatically via cookies when you navigate our platform.

We use the information we collect for charity-sector and community-related purposes only, including to:

• Process your membership applications and coordinate program bookings.

• Respond to inquiries sent to our dedicated committee and staff email accounts.

• Keep you updated on organizational milestones, funding achievements, or upcoming events like our annual Eid family celebrations.

• Manage operations, evaluate our community programs, and provide necessary impact reports to our funders, such as the National Lottery Community Fund and Community Foundation NI.

• Ensure the safety and security of all participants during physical activities (e.g., hiking or residential trips).

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We manage your information under the following limited and secure circumstances:

• Website Design and Administration: Our digital infrastructure, including this website and secure data storage, is managed by an authorized third-party web development and technical administration partner. They maintain our website platforms and hold authorized access to our systems solely to ensure smooth, secure operations. This partner fully respects and complies with the UK GDPR, maintaining strict data security standards to protect your information.

• With Secure Third-Party Service Providers: Your information is safely stored within secure productivity tools and cloud hosting accounts configured specifically for our organization. We utilize these verified, third-party cloud architectures to safely house our email systems and administrative databases under strict encryption protocols.

• With Funding Partners: De-identified, aggregated statistical data—never individual personal details or identifying information—may be shared with our official funders solely to demonstrate the positive social impact and reach of our community programs.

• Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with legal obligations or to protect the vital safety, rights, and well-being of our community members.

We take data security very seriously. All information is stored securely using cloud infrastructure configured by LINKBIT. Access to your personal data is strictly limited to authorized Alghochak committee members, staff, and our technical administrators at LINKBIT who require access to manage organizational operations.

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to provide our community services, or to comply with legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Our website contains links to external community platforms, resource articles, and our official social media channels. Please note that once you leave our website—such as clicking through to connected external registration forms—you are subject to the privacy protocols of those respective platforms. Some areas of our site, such as our calendar bookings, are gated securely behind a membership login for the privacy and protection of our community members.

Under UK data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• The right to access the personal data we hold about you.

• The right to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.

• The right to request deletion of your personal data from our systems.

• The right to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on your consent to process your data (such as for event photography).

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise any of your data rights, or need to update your details held by us, please reach out to our primary decision-maker and Chair, Fatima Sarwari, or our team through our dedicated organizational email channels.