Legal
Plain English summary
This page explains what personal data we collect about you, why we collect it, what we do with it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what rights you have. It is written under UK GDPR and EU GDPR — the laws that protect your data when you interact with us. If you have any questions, write to contact@globalmayors.academy.
Contents
The Global Mayors Academy ("GMA", "we", "us", "our") is a leadership development program operated by Global Mayors Academy Limited, a registered entity at 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX with company number 17106351.
For the purposes of UK GDPR and EU GDPR, Global Mayors Academy Limited is the data controller responsible for your personal data when you interact with the Global Mayors Academy.
GMA is a program of Living Cities Earth, a Swiss charitable association (Verein, CHE-494.695.351). Where Living Cities Earth processes data on our behalf, it acts as a data processor under our instruction.
You can contact us about anything relating to your personal data at:
If we appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO), their contact details will be added here.
We collect different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The categories below are inclusive — not every category applies to every user.
Records of correspondence, including the content of emails and the timestamps and metadata of those messages.
We do not routinely collect "special category" data (such as health, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or political views) under UK/EU GDPR. If you voluntarily share such information — for example, in a written application or conversation — we will treat it with extra care and process it only with your explicit consent.
We collect personal data in the following ways:
We will not collect personal data about you that we do not need.
Under UK/EU GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. The bases we rely on are:
When you register for the City Leaders Program, we process your data to deliver the program to you — sessions, materials, certification, and so on. Without this data, we cannot fulfil the contract.
For some processing — such as basic analytics, fraud prevention, follow-up after you submit a Request Info form, and operating our affiliate program — we rely on our legitimate interests, balanced against your rights and reasonable expectations. You can object to processing on this basis at any time (see Section 9).
For optional activities — such as marketing communications, certain types of cookies, and processing of any special category data you voluntarily share — we rely on your explicit consent. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Where we are required by law to retain or share data — for example, tax records, anti-money-laundering checks for affiliate payouts, or response to lawful requests — we process data on this basis.
We do not currently rely on these bases.
We share your personal data with a limited number of categories of recipients, only where necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
A full list of our processors is available on request to the address in Section 14.
We may share personal data with public authorities where required by law, in response to a valid legal request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of GMA, our participants, or the public.
If GMA or its operating entity is reorganised, merged, or transferred, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. You will be informed in advance and your rights under this policy will be preserved.
The Global Mayors Academy is a global program. Some of our service providers and partners are located outside the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA), including in the United States and Switzerland.
Where we transfer personal data outside the UK or EEA, we ensure that one of the following safeguards is in place:
You can request a list of the relevant safeguards by writing to us at contact@globalmayors.academy.
We retain personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, then we delete or anonymize it. Indicative retention periods are:
You can request deletion of your data at any time, subject to our legal obligations (see Section 9).
We take the security of your personal data seriously. Our measures include:
No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you suspect a security issue, please write to us immediately at contact@globalmayors.academy.
Under UK/EU GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
To exercise any of these rights, write to us at contact@globalmayors.academy with the subject line "Data subject request". We will respond within one month, and may extend this by up to two further months for complex requests, in which case we will let you know.
There is normally no charge for exercising these rights. We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act on requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive.
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, to improve your experience, and to understand how visitors use the site. Some cookies are strictly necessary; others are optional and used only with your consent.
The full list of cookies, their purposes, providers, and durations is set out in our Cookies Policy. You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Manage cookies" link in our footer.
If you have opted in to our newsletter or other marketing communications, we will send you occasional updates about the program, events, and the wider Living Cities Earth movement. We aim to send no more than one to two emails per month.
You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email, or by writing to us at contact@globalmayors.academy. Unsubscribing from marketing does not affect transactional emails relating to your participation in the program.
The Global Mayors Academy is intended for adults — typically civic leaders, officials, and professionals over the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 16. If you believe we have collected data from a minor in error, please write to us immediately at contact@globalmayors.academy and we will delete it.
We may update this policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the law, in our service providers, or in our processing practices. The current version is always available at globalmayors.academy/privacy, with the "Last updated" date at the top.
For material changes that affect existing participants — for example, the addition of a new processing purpose or a new category of recipient — we will notify you by email and, where required, request your renewed consent.
A version history is maintained internally and is available on request.
For any question, request, or concern about your personal data, please write to us at contact@globalmayors.academy with the subject line "Privacy enquiry".
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to a data-protection regulator:
We would prefer to address your concern directly first, so please contact us before lodging a complaint where possible. We take privacy seriously and we will engage in good faith.
Global Mayors Academy is a program of Living Cities Earth (Swiss Verein). This Privacy Policy is published alongside our Terms and Conditions, Cookies Policy, and Ethical AI Policy.