This page explains our terms of service. When you use the YWC digital platform, you’re agreeing to all the rules on this page, which are subject to change at any time. Some of them need to be expressed in legal language, but we’ve done our best to offer you clear and simple explanations.

By using this website (the “Site”) and services (together with the Site, the “Services”) offered by YWC, hosted by the International Secretariat for Water, you’re agreeing to these legally binding rules (the “Terms”). You’re also agreeing to our Privacy Policy and agreeing to follow all other rules on the Site.

We may change these terms from time to time. If we do, we’ll let you know about any material changes, either by notifying you on the Site or by sending you an email. New versions of the terms will never apply retroactively — we’ll tell you the exact date they go into effect. If you keep using YWC after a change, that means you accept the new terms. You should be aware that any violation to our Terms of Service may result in you being banned for using our Site and/or Services.

1.    About Submitting a Project or becoming a Supporter

To sign up for a YWC project account for submitting projects, you need to be between 18 and 35 years old. You’re responsible for your account and all the activity on it. To sign up for a YWC supporter account you need to be over 18 years old and have a verifiable interest in supporting a project either through technical or financial assistance. Therefore, by signing up and/or submitting a project, you confirm that you have the required age, which may be verified by YWC at any time and cause a disqualification.

You can browse YWC without registering for an account. But to use most of YWC’s functions, you’ll need to register, choose an account name, and set a password. When you do that, the information you give us has to be accurate and complete. Don’t impersonate anyone else or choose names that are offensive or that violate anyone’s rights. If you don’t follow these rules, we may cancel your account at our sole discretion.

This is important because some of the information you give us in your account, whether as a project creator or supporter, is the information that is visible to others who have created accounts, although contact information, including telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are only available once a creator and supporter have mutually liked each other, as described in our Privacy Policy. When you have created an account, you’re responsible for all the activity on your account, and for keeping your password confidential. If you find out that someone’s used your account without your permission, you should report it to [e-mail address].

2.    YWC Quality Label

As a creator, you can submit your project at any time. The project is then assessed according to YWC’s quality criteria and you will receive feedback on whether your project can receive the YWC Quality label and be presented on the website, or you will receive feedback on how to improve the project so that it meets the YWC Quality Assessment criteria. It is only once the YWC Quality Label has been given that the project is featured on the public website.

YWC retains the right to be the sole assessor of the YWC Quality Label and is free to accept and reject projects according to the criteria for the label. It is therefore important that you read the Quality Assessment Guidelines before submitting a project.

3.    Things You Definitely Shouldn’t Do

This section is a list of things you probably already know you shouldn’t do — lie, break laws, abuse people, steal data, hack other people’s computers, and so on. Please behave yourself.

Don’t do any of these things on the Site:

  • Don’t break the law. Don’t take any action that infringes or violates other people’s rights, including intellectual property rights, violates the law, or breaches any contract or legal duty you have toward anyone.
  • Don’t lie to people. Don’t post information you know is false, misleading, or inaccurate. Don’t do anything deceptive or fraudulent.
  • Don’t offer prohibited items. Don’t offer any rewards that are illegal, violate any of YWC’s policies, rules, or guidelines, or violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance, or regulation.
  • Don’t victimize anyone. Don’t do anything threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, tortious, obscene, profane, disrespectful or invasive of another person’s privacy.
  • Don’t spam. Don’t distribute unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material, or any junk mail, spam, or chain letters. Don’t run mail lists, listservs, or any kind of auto-responder or spam on or through the Site.
  • Don’t harm anyone’s computer. Don’t distribute software viruses, or anything else (code, films, programs) designed to interfere with the proper function of any software, hardware, or equipment on the Site (whether it belongs to YWC or another party).
  • Don’t abuse other users’ personal information. When you use YWC — and especially if you create a successful project — you may receive information about other users, including things like their names, email addresses, and postal addresses. This information is provided for the sole purpose of participating in a YWC project: don’t use it for other purposes, and don’t abuse it.

We also need to make sure that the Site is secure and our systems function properly. So don’t do any of these things — most of which boil down to “don’t mess with our system.”

  • Don’t try to interfere with the proper workings of the Services.
  • Don’t bypass any measures we’ve put in place to secure the Services.
  • Don’t try to damage or get unauthorized access to any system, data, password, or other information, whether it belongs to YWC or another party.
  • Don’t take any action that imposes an unreasonable load on our infrastructure, or on our third-party providers. (We reserve the right to determine what’s reasonable.)
  • Don’t use any kind of software or device (whether it’s manual or automated) to “crawl” or “spider” any part of the Site.
  • Don’t take apart or reverse engineer any aspect of YWC in an effort to access things like source code, underlying ideas, or algorithms.

4.    How Projects Become Supported

Most of our Terms of Service explain your relationship with YWC. This section is different — it explains the relationship between creators and supporters of YWC projects, and who’s responsible for what. This is what you’re agreeing to when you create or back a YWC project.

YWC provides a showcasing platform for creative water and climate projects. When a creator posts a project on YWC, they’re inviting other people to be informed of the project and its potential effects on water and climate. Anyone who is interested in backing a project will need to contact the creator outside the YWC website in order to develop any subsequent transactions and agreements.

YWC is not a part of this contact or any future contractual relationships entered into by a creator and a supporter — the contract is a direct legal agreement between creators and their supporter, outside of YWC’s responsibilities and supervision.

Supporters must understand that when they back a project, they’re helping to create change for others, not ordering a product or particular service. There may be changes or delays, and there’s a chance something could happen that prevents the creator from being able to finish the project as promised.

The creator is solely responsible for fulfilling the promises made in their project and any other obligations they may have entered into with a potential supporter. If they’re unable to satisfy the terms of the agreement that is made with a supporter, they may be subject to legal action by supporters.

5.    Things We Don’t Do and Aren’t Responsible For

We don’t oversee projects’ performance, and we don’t mediate disputes between users. The quality assurance (“YWC Quality Label”) which is given to projects that are listed on the Site are based on the information you as a creator have provided and therefore is no guarantee or warrantee for the quality of the project. In the same way we are not responsible for the ability of a supporter to actually be able to technically and/or financially support at project.

YWC isn’t liable for any damages or losses directly and indirectly related to your use of the Services. We don’t become involved in disputes between users, or between users and any third party relating to the use of the Services. We don’t oversee the performance or punctuality of projects, and we don’t endorse any content users submit to the Site beyond the YWC Quality Label. When you use the Services, you release YWC from any and all claims, damages (direct, indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive), and demands of every kind — known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, direct or indirect — arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and the Services. All content you access through the Services is at your own risk. You’re solely responsible for any resulting damage or loss to any party.

By submitting a project, you acknowledge and agree that the project and its content may be translated, if necessary, using free and public services, such as but not limited to “Google Translate”, and that YWC is not responsible for the accuracy of translated terms.

6.    Costs

Creating an account on YWC is free. No financial transactions can occur on or through the Site. All financial transactions are carried out between creators and supporters in a bilateral manner, and YWC has no part in those transactions and waives all liability.

7.    Other Websites

If you follow a link to another website, what happens there is between you and them — not us.

YWC may contain links to other websites. (For instance, crowdsourcing platforms, project pages, technical and other support resource centers, user profiles, and comments may link to other sites.) When you access third-party websites, you do so at your own risk. We don’t control or endorse those sites.

YWC partners with other organisations (such as XXXX). If you contact these organizations, you do so at your own risk and responsibility.

8.    Your Intellectual Property

We don’t own the stuff you post on YWC. But when you post it, you’re giving us permission to use or copy it however we need in order to run the site, or show people what’s happening on it. (We generally just use this to promote projects and showcase our community on the website.) You’re responsible for the content you post, and you’re vouching to us that it’s all okay to use, especially that you have all Intellectual Property rights on such content or necessary authorizations.

YWC doesn’t own content you submit to us (your “Content”). But we do need certain licenses from you in order to perform our Services. When you submit a project for review, or launch a project, you agree to these terms:

  • We can use the content you’ve submitted. You grant to us, and others acting on our behalf, the worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable right to use the copyright, publicity, trademark, and database rights with respect to your Content. for the purposes of the Site, which is to promote youth projects. As set out in the Privacy Policy, we will not use your private information for commercial use.
  • When we use the content, we can make changes, like editing or translating it. You grant us the right to edit, modify, reformat, excerpt, delete, or translate any of your Content.
  • You won’t submit stuff you don’t hold the copyright for (unless you have permission). Your Content will not contain third-party copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third-party proprietary rights, unless you have permission from the rightful owner of the material, or you are otherwise legally entitled to post the material (and to grant YWC all the license rights outlined here).
  • Any royalties or licensing on your Content are your responsibility. You will pay all royalties and other amounts owed to any person or entity based on your Content, or on YWC’s hosting of that Content and you release YWC of any liability thereof.
  • You promise that if we use your Content, we’re not violating anyone’s rights or copyrights. If YWC or its users exploit or make use of your submission in the ways contemplated in this agreement, you promise that this will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party, including (without limitation) any privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights.
  • You’re responsible for the stuff you post. All information submitted to the Site, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the person from whom that content originated.
  • We’re not responsible for mistakes in your content. YWC will not be liable for any errors or omissions in any content.

9.    YWC’s Intellectual Property

The content on YWC is protected in various ways. You do have the right to use it for certain personal purposes, but you can’t use it for anything commercial without getting permission first.

YWC’s Services are legally protected in various ways, including copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, and other rights and laws. You agree to respect all copyright and other legal notices, information, and restrictions contained in any content accessed through the Site. You also agree not to change, translate, or otherwise create derivative works of the Service.

YWC grants you a license to reproduce content from the Services for personal use only. This license covers both YWC’s own protected content and user-generated content on the Site. (This license is worldwide, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, and non-transferable.) If you want to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, or store any of this content for a commercial purpose, you need prior written permission from YWC or the relevant copyright holder. A “commercial purpose” means you intend to use, sell, license, rent, or otherwise exploit content for commercial use, in any way.

10. How We Deal with Copyright Issues

We comply with the [national copyright laws of ?]

We reserve the right to delete or disable content alleged to be infringing, and to terminate accounts for repeat infringers. (We do this when appropriate and at our sole discretion.)

11. Deleting Your Account

You can delete your account at any time. Deleting your account won’t make content you’ve already posted go away.

You can terminate your account at any time. All provisions of this agreement survive termination of an account, including our rights regarding any content you’ve already submitted to the Site. (For instance, if you’ve launched a project, deleting your account will not remove the project from the Site.)

12. Our Rights

To operate, we need to maintain control over what happens on our website. So in this section, we reserve the right to make decisions to protect the health and integrity of our system. We don’t take these powers lightly, and we only use them when we absolutely have to.

YWC reserves these rights:

  • We can make changes to the YWC Site and Services without notice or liability.
  • We have the right to decide who’s eligible to use YWC. We can cancel accounts or decline to offer our Services at our discretion (Especially if you’re abusing them.). We can change our eligibility criteria at any time. If these things are prohibited by law where you live, then we revoke your right to use YWC in that jurisdiction.
  • We have the right to reject, cancel, interrupt, remove, or suspend any project at any time and for any reason.

YWC is not liable for any and all damages as a result of any of these actions, and it is our policy not to comment on the reasons for any such action.

13. Warranty Disclaimer

We work hard to provide you with great services, but we can’t guarantee everything will always work perfectly. This site is presented as-is, without warranties.

You use our Services solely at your own risk. They are provided to you “as is” and “as available” and without warranty of any kind, express or implied. This means that any use or advice you are given through the Services is no warranty for any outcome you may expect, and you release YWC of any liability.

14. Indemnification

If you do something on YWC that winds up getting us sued, you have to help defend us.

If you do something that gets us sued, or breaks any of the promises you make in this agreement, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from any and all liabilities, claims, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and other legal costs) that arise from or relate to your use or misuse of YWC. We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to this indemnification clause, in which case you agree that you’ll cooperate and help us in asserting any defenses.

15. Limitation of Liability

If something bad happens as a result of your using YWC, we’re not liable.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event will YWC, or its content providers be liable for any indirect, incidental, punitive, consequential, special, or exemplary damages of any kind, including but not limited to damages (i) resulting from your access to, use of, or inability to access or use the Services; (ii) for any lost profits, loss of business, fees, data loss, or cost of procurement or substitute goods or services; or (iii) for any conduct of content of any third party on the Site.

16. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

We’re located in Montreal, and any disputes with us have to be handled in the district of Montreal, under Quebec law.

We at YWC encourage you to contact us if you’re having an issue, before resorting to the courts. In the unfortunate situation where legal action does arise, these Terms (and all other rules, policies, or guidelines incorporated by reference) will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Quebec, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You hereby irrevocably waive any right you may have to trial by jury in any dispute, action, or proceeding.

17. Miscellaneous

These are our official terms and our rules for how things work. (So if you ever see confusing or conflicting information about any of this stuff, just check these terms — they’re the last word.) Thanks so much for reading them, and for using YWC!

These Terms and the other material referenced in them are the entire agreement between you and YWC with respect to the Services. They supersede all other communications and proposals (whether oral, written, or electronic) between you and YWC with respect to the Services and govern our future relationship. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid under the law, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms otherwise will remain in full force and effect and enforceable. The failure of either you or YWC to exercise any right provided for in these Terms in any way won’t be deemed a waiver of any other rights.

These Terms are personal to you. You can’t assign them, transfer them, or sublicense them unless you get YWC’s prior written consent. YWC has the right to assign, transfer, or delegate any of its rights and obligations under these Terms without your consent. YWC will provide you notice via email, written notice, or by conspicuously posting the notice on our Site.

 

These Terms of Service went into effect on XXXXXX and apply to all projects submitted on YWC Site on or after that date.