Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 September 2026

1. Introduction

Dïaspora Journal SCIO (“Dïaspora”, “the Journal”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Scottish Charity number SC055480, with its principal office at 59/5 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DY. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website (https://www.diiaspora.org), submit work for publication, apply to join our team, subscribe to our communications, request a free printed copy of the Journal, make a donation, or otherwise interact with us.

We are the data controller for personal data processed in connection with our website and related activities, and we process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

2. Contact Details

Data controller: Dïaspora Journal SCIO

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us.

Email: info@diiaspora.org
Telephone: +44 7932 774123
Post: 59/5 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 1DY

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection. You can do this on their website (https://ico.org.uk/concerns).

3. Information We Collect

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

Identity and contact data: your name, email address, telephone number and, where you request a printed copy by post, your postal address.
Contributor data: the work you submit, your author name or pseudonym, biography, photograph, institutional affiliation and any other information you include in a submission.
Membership and volunteer data: information you provide when you apply to join our editorial, design or operations team, including your interests, skills and availability.
Donation data: details of donations you make, including amount, date and payment status, and any Gift Aid declaration. We do not store full card details; payments are handled by our payment provider.
Technical data: your IP address, browser type, operating system, referral source, time and date of visit and website usage statistics, collected automatically through our website provider.
Communication data: any information you provide when you contact us or subscribe to our newsletter or updates.
Marketing and preference data: your consent and preferences for receiving communications from us.

We do not knowingly collect special category data (for example, data revealing ethnic origin, political opinions or religious beliefs) unless you choose to include it in a submission or communication.

4. How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data in the following ways:

Directly from you, for example when you submit work, apply to join us, subscribe, request a printed copy, make a donation or contact us.
Automatically, through analytics tools when you use our website.
From third-party services we use to operate our website and forms (for example, our website host and form processing providers).
From social media platforms where you interact with our accounts, in accordance with those platforms’ own privacy policies.

5. Our Lawful Bases for Processing

We rely on the following lawful bases under Article 6 of the UK GDPR:

Consent – for submission and join-us forms, newsletter and marketing communications, and non-essential cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Contract – to consider, edit and publish work you submit under our Terms and Conditions.
Legitimate interests – to operate, secure and improve our website, to administer the Journal, to prevent fraud and misuse, and to keep records of contributors and published work. We balance these interests against your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation – to comply with charity law (including our duties to the Scottish Charity Regulator), tax and accounting requirements, and to process Gift Aid claims to HMRC where you have made a declaration.

6. How We Use Your Data

We process your personal data only where lawful and necessary, for the following purposes:

To provide and maintain our website and digital content.
To receive, review, edit and publish submitted work and to credit contributors.
To consider applications to join our team and to organise volunteers.
To communicate with you and respond to your enquiries.
To distribute free printed copies of the Journal to those who request them.
To process donations and, where applicable, Gift Aid claims.
To send newsletters and updates, where you have consented.
To analyse website traffic and improve our services.
To comply with legal, regulatory and charity-governance requirements.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law:

Donation records and Gift Aid declarations: up to 7 years, for tax, accounting and charity-law compliance.
Submission data and published contributor information: for as long as the work remains published and for up to 7 years thereafter, so that we can maintain an accurate record of the Journal and the licences granted to us.
Unsuccessful submissions and join-us applications: up to 3 years after the decision, unless you ask us to keep your details on file longer.
Contact and communication data: up to 3 years after your enquiry is resolved.
Postal addresses for printed copies: deleted within 3 months of dispatch, unless you have asked to receive future editions.
Newsletter and marketing data: until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent, after which your details are deleted within one month.
Technical and analytics data: up to 3 years.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

8. Sharing of Personal Data

We may share your personal data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and services, including:

Website hosting and maintenance providers.
Website form processing provider Web3Forms, which we use for submissions and join-us forms.
Email and newsletter service providers.
Payment processors, for donations.
Printers and postal or courier services, where necessary to deliver a printed copy to you.
Professional advisers (for example, accountants or independent examiners), HMRC (for Gift Aid) and the Scottish Charity Regulator, where required by law.

We require all third parties to process your personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and only for specified purposes. We do not sell your personal data.

Where you are a published contributor, your name (or chosen pseudonym) and any biography you supply will be made public as part of the Journal in print and online.

9. International Transfers

Some of our service providers may store or process personal data outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision covering the destination country.

If you are located outside the United Kingdom, please note that your personal data will be transferred to and processed in the UK. Where the EU GDPR applies to our processing of your data, we comply with its requirements in addition to those of the UK GDPR.

10. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. These include encryption in transit, access restricted to those team members who need it, secure hosting environments and regular data protection reviews.

Please note that no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Your Data Protection Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.
Right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information.
Right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information.
Right to object – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.
Right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you.
Right to withdraw consent – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we will respond without undue delay and in any event within one month. To make a request, please contact us using the details provided in section 2.

Please note that withdrawing consent or requesting erasure does not by itself revoke a licence you have granted to publish your work; see our Terms and Conditions for how licences are handled.

12. Children

Our website and services are intended for people aged 16 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe we have collected such data, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements or our data practices. Any changes will be published on our website with an updated date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

14. How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us using the contact details in section 2.

If you remain unhappy with how we have used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint