Privacy Notice (KVKK & GDPR)

1. Who is responsible for your data?

"We" in this notice means SilentFest Global. We are the data controller under the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law no. 6698 (KVKK) and under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

One address for any data request: silentfestglobal@gmail.com. For questions about the application process itself you can also write to silentfestglobal@gmail.com.

If you would rather ask in sign language, send us a video over WhatsApp. We do not require requests in writing.

2. What we collect

We collect only what the application form asks for. Every field you see while filling it in appears in the list below; nothing is gathered in the background.

• Identity and contact: first and last name, email, phone/WhatsApp, date of birth, country and city of residence, nationality.
• Identity document: either a Turkish national ID number or a passport number. Only one is ever stored — whichever you did not choose is not kept.
• Hearing and language profile: how you describe yourself (deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, hearing), which sign languages you use and at what level, which written languages you are comfortable in.
• Motivation text: why you want to come, what you can bring to the group, any previous experience, and how you heard about us.
• Practical needs: accessibility needs, dietary needs, health information we should know, emergency contact and travel notes.
• Booking details: whether you come alone or as a family, your room preference, how many adults come with you, and the name (optional) and age of any children. The age is what the fee is worked out from.
• Documents you upload: optional files such as a deafness certificate, student certificate, passport photo page or a short sign language video.
• Consent records: which documents you accepted and when, plus the IP address and browser you used when accepting them.

3. Special category data — health and disability

Your hearing status, accessibility needs and any health information you write to us are "special category personal data" under KVKK art. 6 and GDPR art. 9. We process them only with your explicit consent.

The only reason we ask is to make the camp genuinely accessible to you: to book the right interpreter, to give the kitchen the right information, and to plan rooms and activities around it.

Your health notes are seen only by the camp doctor and the camp manager. The volunteers on the selection committee never see these fields.

You may leave these fields blank. Doing so does not affect how your application is assessed, but it may mean we cannot have what you need ready in advance.

4. Why we process it, and on what legal basis

Each category of data has a purpose and a legal basis:

• Assessing your application and telling you the decision — KVKK art. 5/2-c (performance of a contract), GDPR art. 6(1)(b).
• Arranging accommodation, insurance, travel and programme if you are accepted — KVKK art. 5/2-c, GDPR art. 6(1)(b).
• Meeting your accessibility and health needs — your explicit consent, KVKK art. 6/2, GDPR art. 9(2)(a).
• Using your ID or passport number for insurance and official registration — KVKK art. 5/2-c and 5/2-ç, GDPR art. 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(c).
• Appearing in camp photographs and video — only with the separate consent you tick; if you do not, we keep you out of frame.
• Camp safety and emergency management — KVKK art. 5/2-f (legitimate interest), GDPR art. 6(1)(f).

5. Who we share it with

We do not sell your data and we share it with nobody for marketing. It goes only to the parties the camp cannot run without, and only as much of it as they need:

• The camp team: the selection committee (motivation text and language profile), the camp manager and the camp doctor (health and emergency information).
• The venue in Türkiye: name, surname and the minimum needed to book a bed.
• The insurer: name, surname, date of birth, ID or passport number.
• Our hosting and email providers: they store the data on our behalf and may not use it for their own purposes.

6. Transfers outside your country

Applicants come from many countries; our servers and email provider are inside the European Economic Area.

If data has to leave the EEA, that transfer happens only with your explicit consent or where it is necessary to perform the agreement (KVKK art. 9, GDPR art. 49).

7. How long we keep it

Our retention periods are short and specific:

• Unfinished draft applications: deleted automatically 6 months after the last edit.
• Rejected and waitlisted applications: deleted 12 months after the 2027 camp ends. That window exists so we can invite you first the following year; ask us and we will delete it sooner.
• ID and passport numbers: deleted 12 months after the camp ends.
• Names and ages of accompanying children: deleted within 30 days of the camp ending.
• Health and accessibility notes: deleted right after the camp, within 30 days at the latest.
• Documents you uploaded: deleted within 12 months of the assessment finishing.
• Name, surname and year of attendance for accepted participants: kept indefinitely for the archive and the alumni network. You can ask us to delete this too.
• Payment records we are required to keep by accounting and tax law: for the period that law prescribes.

8. How we protect it

• ID and passport numbers are stored encrypted in the database and are never held anywhere in the clear.
• Only authorised camp team members can reach the admin panel, and every sign-in and status change is logged.
• All site and form traffic is encrypted end to end (HTTPS).
• Documents you upload are not served from a public address; only authorised team members can download them.
• In the event of a breach we notify the authority within 72 hours under KVKK art. 12 and GDPR art. 33, and you without undue delay.

9. Your rights

Under KVKK art. 11 and GDPR arts. 15–22 you have the right to:

• Find out whether we process your data and get a copy of it.
• Have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
• Have your data erased ("the right to be forgotten").
• Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format and take it elsewhere.
• Withdraw any consent you gave, at any time — withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of what we did before it.
• Object to processing, and not be subject to automated decision-making. Our assessment is not automated; a person always makes the decision.
• Claim compensation if you have suffered damage.

10. How to exercise them

Write to silentfestglobal@gmail.com. If you would rather send a sign language video over WhatsApp, that is equally fine — we do not insist on writing.

We answer within 30 days, free of charge. We may ask for something to confirm it is really you; that is to protect you, not to slow you down.

If you are not satisfied with our answer you can complain to the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (kvkk.gov.tr). If you live in the EU you can also go to the data protection authority in your own country.

11. Cookies

The first time you open the site we ask about cookies. Refusing is exactly as easy as accepting: both options are the same size, on the same screen, one click each. If you refuse, nothing but the strictly necessary cookies is set.

There are three categories:

• Strictly necessary — keeping your session alive, letting you return to a half-finished application, and form security (CSRF). These cannot be switched off; they are technically required and they do not follow you across other sites. Your cookie choice itself is stored here.
• Analytics — understanding how many people see which page. OFF by default; no analytics script loads until you turn it on.
• Marketing — advertising and retargeting. OFF by default. We use nothing in this category today; the category exists so that if we ever do, we have to ask you first.

You can change your mind at any time through the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer. We remember the choice for 6 months, then ask again.

We do not sell your personal information or share it for advertising. If you live in the United States, choosing "reject non-essential" is treated as a "do not sell or share my personal information" request under the CCPA/CPRA.

12. If this notice changes

When we update it, the version number and date at the top of this page change with it. If you have an application under assessment and the change affects you materially, we will email you as well.

The version in force on this page: 1.0 (7 September 2026).