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Privacy Policy
Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia

1. Responsible Entity

Responsible for the processing of personal data:

Pro Helvetia
Swiss Arts Council
Hirschengraben 22
CH-8024 Zurich
Tel.: +41 44 267 71 14
privacy@prohelvetia.ch

For requests related to the protection of your personal data, you can contact us by mail, telephone, or email at the above address.

2. General Information on Data Processing

The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia (hereinafter “we”, “us” or “Pro Helvetia”) respects the privacy of users and customers of its online presence. We are committed to treating the personal data you provide with care and responsibility at all times and in compliance with applicable data protection regulations.

The services you find on our website are subject to the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and the associated ordinance. Insofar as persons resident in the European Union are concerned, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may additionally apply.

3. Categories of Personal Data

We process the following categories of personal data:

  • General data: Name, first name, date of birth, gender, nationality
  • Contact data: Postal address, email address, telephone number
  • Contract data: Customer number, order history, payment information
  • Application data (in the context of funding applications): Project descriptions, artistic qualifications and references, project financial data, curriculum vitae and portfolio
  • Applicant data: Curriculum vitae, certificates and diplomas, motivation letter, references
  • Communication data: Content of correspondence with us, newsletter preferences
  • Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, date and time of access, cookie IDs

Statistical or anonymised data that cannot be linked to your person do not constitute personal data.

4. Purposes of Data Processing

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

  • Provision of the website: Enabling use of our website, ensuring system security and stability, optimizing the internet offering, internal statistical evaluations
  • Contract processing: Processing of orders in the web shop, payment processing, product delivery, customer management
  • Funding applications and project support: Reception and processing of funding applications via the myprohelvetia portal, assessment of eligibility for funding, implementation and documentation of funding measures, fulfillment of reporting obligations
  • Application procedures: Conducting recruitment processes, assessing the suitability of applicants, communication with applicants
  • Newsletter and marketing: Sending newsletters (only with consent), information about events and offers, public relations for cultural promotion
  • Legal obligations: Fulfillment of legal retention and documentation obligations, compliance with regulatory requirements (e.g., Federal Act on Archiving)

5. Recipients of Personal Data

Within Pro Helvetia, only those persons who need them to fulfill their duties have access to your personal data.

In addition, we may disclose your personal data to the following recipients:

  • Service providers and processors: e.g., IT service providers (hosting, email dispatch, cloud services), Ostendis AG (e-recruiting solution, UID: CHE-102.097.261), Google Inc. (Google Analytics, Google Maps), Campaign Monitor (newsletter dispatch), Real Cookie Banner (cookie consent management), postal and transport companies
  • Foundation network: e.g., Pro Helvetia offices at home and abroad, Swiss embassies abroad, partner organizations in connection with funding applications and projects
  • Authorities, where legally required or necessary to protect our rights
  • Third parties: in case of express consent or to enforce our rights and claims

Our service providers are contractually obligated to process personal data only within the scope of our instructions and to maintain confidentiality.

6. Disclosure Abroad

In the course of our activities, personal data may be disclosed abroad.

Insofar as we disclose personal data abroad or employ processors abroad, we ensure that the recipients provide adequate data protection.

Depending on the service providers used, data may be transmitted to the EU/EEA or to third countries.

Some examples include Pro Helvetia offices abroad, Swiss embassies abroad, or international partner organizations in the context of cultural projects.

For questions about specific transfers abroad, please contact us at privacy@prohelvetia.ch.

7. Duration of Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law.

Contract data is retained longer as required by legal retention obligations. Such retention obligations arise from accounting regulations and tax law provisions, among others. According to these provisions, business communications, concluded contracts, and accounting records must be retained for up to 10 years. To the extent we no longer need this data to perform services for you, the data will be blocked. This means that the data may then only be used for very specific purposes, such as accounting and tax purposes.

You can request deletion of your personal data at any time by submitting a request to privacy@prohelvetia.ch. We will comply with your request promptly unless we are obligated to continue retention for other reasons (e.g., legal retention obligations, protection of legal claims).

8. Rights of the Data Subject

You have the following rights in connection with the processing of your personal data:

8.1. Right of withdrawal

If you have given us your consent to process personal data, you may withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. It is possible that due to the withdrawal, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia can no longer process the data according to its processes, which may lead to early termination of a contractual relationship with the data subject. This may cause additional costs for the data subject.

8.2. Right of Access

You have the right to request information about whether personal data about you is being processed. Information is usually provided within 30 days.

8.3. Right of Rectification

You have the right to request rectification of your personal data.

8.4. Right to Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your personal data, which we will comply with unless law or overriding interests prevent it.

8.5. Right to Data Release or Data Transfer

You have the right, under given conditions, to request the release or transfer of your personal data in a common electronic format.

8.6. Right to File a Complaint with the Supervisory Authority

You have the right to file a complaint with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) regarding the processing of personal data that violates legal provisions.

Contact FDPIC:
Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner
Feldeggweg 1
CH-3003 Bern
www.edoeb.admin.ch

To exercise your rights, please send us written notice by mail or email to the contact details listed under Section 1.

9. Cookies und Tracking Technologies

To improve our product offering, we use so-called “cookies” on our websites. Cookies enable us to recognize your device and save your settings.

9.1. Types of Cookies

  • Necessary cookies: These cookies are required for the operation of the website and cannot be deactivated. They serve to provide basic functions such as navigation and access to secure areas.
  • Functional cookies: These cookies enable advanced functionalities and personalization, such as saving your settings.
  • Analysis cookies: These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and analysing information anonymously.

9.2. Cookies and Tools We Use

Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to analyze website usage. Google Analytics uses cookies that enable analysis of your use of the website. The information generated by the cookie about your use is usually transmitted to and stored on a Google server (see Section 6 on disclosure abroad). You can prevent collection by Google Analytics by installing the browser plugin to deactivate Google Analytics:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de

Google Maps: We use Google Maps to display maps. When calling up a page with Google Maps, data is transmitted to Google.

Campaign Monitor: We use Campaign Monitor for newsletter dispatch. Opening rates and clicks are evaluated.

9.3. Cookie Consent Management

To manage the cookies and similar technologies (tracking pixels, web beacons, etc.) used and to obtain your consent, we use the consent tool “Real Cookie Banner”.

Details on how Real Cookie Banner works: https://devowl.io/de/rcb/datenverarbeitung

The processing of personal data by Real Cookie Banner is carried out:

  • To fulfill legal obligations (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR, where applicable)
  • To protect our legitimate interests in managing cookie consents

9.4. Your Choices

You can adjust your cookie settings at any time via the cookie banner on our website.

Alternatively, you can manage cookies in your browser settings:

  • Completely reject cookies
  • Only allow certain cookies
  • Delete cookies after ending the browser session
  • Delete cookies manually

Please note that deactivating cookies may limit the functionality of our website.

The cookies we use do not store directly identifying personal data. Only pseudonymized information is generated, from which we cannot draw conclusions about your identity.

10. Applications

We publish job advertisements irregularly on prohelvetia.ch and online job boards. Interested parties can apply online or by email. Spontaneous applications are also possible.

In the course of the application process, we process the following categories of applicant data:

  • Personal information (name, address, date of birth, nationality)
  • Contact details (email, telephone)
  • Curriculum vitae and professional background
  • Education certificates, testimonials, diplomas
  • Motivation letter
  • References
  • Other documents submitted by you

For the application process, we work with the e-recruiting solution of Ostendis AG, CH-5706 Boniswil (UID: CHE-102.097.261). Ostendis AG acts as a processor for data storage and provides processes for handling application documents. No automated decision-making procedures (profiling, matching) are used. All decisions in the application process are made by people.

For more information and Ostendis AG’s privacy policies, visit www.ostendis.com.

If an employment contract is concluded after the application process, we store the data transmitted during your application in your personnel file for the duration of the employment relationship and in accordance with legal retention obligations. In case of rejection of an application, we automatically delete the data transmitted to us 13 weeks after completion of the recruitment process. Deletion does not occur exceptionally if the data must be stored longer due to mandatory legal retention obligations or if longer storage is necessary, for example until the conclusion of court proceedings. If you expressly consent to longer storage of your data, e.g., for inclusion in an applicant database, the data will be further processed based on your consent.

You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future by declaration to us by email to humanresources@prohelvetia.ch

11. Social Media and Plugins

We maintain presences on various social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube). When using these platforms, the privacy policies of the respective providers apply.

Our website may contain social media plugins. These plugins are usually only loaded after your active consent. Only then is data transmitted to the operators of the social media platforms.

The respective platform operators are responsible for processing your personal data through social media platforms. We have no influence on the scope of data collected and its use by platform operators.

12. Children’s Data

To the extent recognizable to us, we process personal data of children and adolescents under 16 years of age only with the consent of their legal guardian.

Persons under 16 years of age must obtain permission from their legal guardian before submitting personal data to us. Accordingly, use of our website by persons under 16 who do not have parental consent is generally prohibited.

Furthermore, newsletter registration for persons under 13, even with the consent of legal guardians, is prohibited.

13. Liability for Links

Our website contains links to external third-party websites. We have no influence on their content.

We expressly distance ourselves from all content of linked pages. At the time of linking, no illegal content was recognizable. Permanent content control of linked pages is not reasonable without concrete evidence of a legal violation.

For illegal, incorrect, or incomplete content and for damages arising from the use or non-use of linked content, only the provider of the linked page is liable.

14. Newsletter

You will only receive a newsletter from us upon express request. For newsletter dispatch, we use the so-called “double opt-in procedure,” i.e., we will only send you a newsletter by email after you have expressly confirmed to us beforehand that we should activate the newsletter service. For this purpose, we will send you a confirmation email after registration and ask you to confirm by clicking on a link contained in this email that you wish to receive our newsletter.

Upon newsletter registration, we process: Your email address, date and time of registration, your consent, and possibly other voluntary information (name, interests).

We use your email address for our own advertising purposes, in particular for information about cultural events, funding programs, and news from Pro Helvetia.

Unsubscribing from the newsletter is possible at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in each newsletter or by email to privacy@prohelvetia.ch.

Unsubscribing has no effect on the lawfulness of processing that occurred before unsubscribing.

For the technical dispatch of the newsletter, we commission Campaign Monitor (see Sections 6 and 9).

15. Changes to the Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time to adapt it to changed legal situations or changes to our services and data processing.

If you are affected by the change, we will inform you in an appropriate manner (e.g., by notice on the website or by email).

The current version of the privacy policy can be found on our website. The privacy policy does not establish a contractual or other formal legal relationship.

Status: December 2025