Privacy Policy and Statement of Consent

Privacy Policy

The Goethe-Institut pledges to fully apply the requirements of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Chapter 486 of the Laws of Hong Kong, and the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) where applicable.

“Personal data” means any data relating directly or indirectly of a living individual from which it is practicable for the identity of the individual to be directly or indirectly ascertained.

Any personal data collected will be processed, handled and stored in strict confidentiality and high level of security and integrity. Goethe-Institut and Goethe headquarters in Munich, Germany (“GI-HQ”) will endeavor to take reasonable steps to keep secure any information we hold about you and keep this information accurate and up-to-date. Your personal information may be stored in hard copy or electronically (including on secure servers in controlled environment).

We have security processes in place to protect personal information from misuse, loss or unauthorized access, modification or disclosure in accordance with Hong Kong and German data protection laws. The types of measures we take vary with the type of information and how it is collected and stored. We require our employees, agents, contractors and data processors to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by us.

Please note that Goethe-Institut may use overseas facilities including (but not limited to) in Germany to process or back-up information and, as a result, we may transfer your personal information to these overseas facilities for storage. However, this does not change any of our commitments to safeguard your privacy.

Under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, you have a right to request access to, and to request correction of, your personal data. Such requests should be addressed to Goethe-Institut Hongkong, 14/F Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, SAR.

Statement of Consent

I do hereby declare and consent to the electronic processing and storage by Goethe-Institut Hong Kong of my Data provided under the terms of my registration and to the transmission of my personal data to GI-HQ to store, process and combine the personal data in its central customer database with my personal data previously provided and stored there, if applicable.

Furthermore, I consent to the use of my Data by Goethe-Institut and GI-HQ not only for performing the contractual agreement, but also for the purposes of market research, advertising and direct marketing associated with the range of services offered by Goethe-Institut and, in particular, for providing relevant advertisements or surveys (“Information”), e.g., about new courses offered by Goethe-Institut to me at the contact address I have provided, either by post or – at my special request – also by telephone, fax, email, or text message.

Data concerning examinations I have taken may also be transmitted to GI-HQ for storage and use in the central examination archives for verification purposes and for issuing replacement certificates, as required. The maximum period of storing Data is 10 years or shorter if Goethe-Institut deems fit. To the extent the Data relates to examinations entitling my foreign spouse to relocate here with me, I hereby authorize GI-HQ to confirm, at the request of the German authorities, the authenticity of a certificate I have submitted to a government agency under the regulations of the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz).
Goethe-Institut will not use my Data for any other purpose than those specified in this consent agreement or provide any Data to a third party, unless I have specifically agreed to.

I have been informed that I may revoke my permission to use my Data for market research, advertising and marketing purposes at any time, and have the right to ask Goethe-Institut anytime to delete my Data.