Privacy Policy

In Accordance With Article 13 Of The Regulation

General Data Protection Regulation

This information is addressed to people interested in contributing to the aims of the project  “B-THENET- Best practices and innovations for a sustainable beekeeping” (G.A. 101059812), funded by the Horizon Europe Programme and coordinated by IZSLT.

Description of the project

B-THENET Thematic Network implements a multi actor (MA) approach to modernise the EU beekeeping sector, sharing knowledge that is ready to be put into practice, while fostering innovation and digitalization. Beekeepers will be advanced toward more economically viable and sustainable beekeeping through the knowledge sharing and training of useful and applicable best practices. Our MA approach engages the entire apiculture sector (beekeepers, advisors, researchers, policymakers, industry, consumers, etc.) to collect, categorise and help select best practices and applicable research findings not sufficiently known, using a bottom-up methodology that populates two accessible platforms (“Practices” and “R&I”). Only practices that meet beekeepers’ needs, are effective and ready to use, will be selected, shared and customised in our public platform (“Exchange”) and in national sub-networks (13 National Centres), so we can take into account the differences between territories, and adapt practices to specific regions, languages, equipment, bee genetics, diseases, and the operational scale of beekeeping. This approach will support the setting-up of tailored and validated best practices. The flow of practical information will be supported by the 13 National Centres, 3 International Centres and by the targeted events (312 national and 6 international), 1 EU manual on best practices, and 1 set of guidelines for advisors in beekeeping, thus contributing to a rapid cross-fertilization process and to a greater acceptance of the final outputs.

Description of the activities 

Within B-THENET project, the partners organise various activities to support the modernisation of EU beekeeping sector: a) the establishment of a community of stakeholders on  B-THENET Platforms to facilitate a regular flow of information; b) the development of an Inventory of priority practices and innovations from beekeepers through surveys with a beekeeper-centered-design; c) meetings with relevant networks, beekeepers, advisors, and stakeholders to collect and analyse the practices and innovations ready for practice; d) publication of collected practices in the Exchange Platform to validate them; e) training activities on best practices and innovations performed by the 13 National Centres; f) sociological studies to reach the preferred communication strategies of beekeepers; g) dissemination of the Best Beekeeping Practices on B-THENET website and EU networks; h) promotional meetings as part of large events to raise awareness among the general public; i) creation of ad-hoc content (images, videos and texts) for social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), website and other dissemination materials of the project; l) Development of Information Technology architecture of the “Best Practices Platform”, “Research & Innovation Platform”,“Exchange Platform” and of the “Repository platform”; m) the establishment of three International Centres to encourage the flow of information about the best practices and innovations in the beekeeper sector; n) the establishment of new connections with relevant projects and international network hubs.

Pictures will be taken, short videos will be recorded and personal information will be requested from the data subjects to involve them in the B-THENET activities. Consequently, the data subject’s consent is required to process the personal data according to Art.13 GDPR. 

The images, videos, and personal information will be used for dissemination and documentation purposes of the activities carried out by the B-THENET project, in documents, conference presentations, and scientific publications. Furthermore, in order to promote project activities, communicate specific content on the best beekeeping practices, and encourage the active involvement of beekeepers, advisors and stakeholders, images and videos will be shared on the project’s social media and website.

Under no circumstances will the images, videos, and texts collected harm the dignity and decorum of the persons concerned. Furthermore, all materials will not be used for commercial purposes by the B-THENET project.

Type of data processed

Personal data will be collected and stored on the project website. Data processed include Name, Surname, E-mail and Phone (if necessary).

Purposes of processing

The data subject’s personal data will be collected and used within B-THENET project for the following purposes:

• Dissemination of a list of the B-THENET participants and stakeholders;
• Dissemination of images, audio and videos on the B-THENET website, Zenodo Community and social media channels;
• Registration to B-THENET events;
• Production of project deliverables, records, survey, publications, news, documents, and conference presentations;
• Receiving news, information, invitations to events and workshops, publications, announcements and newsletters relating to the activities conducted  by B-THENET;
• Management of requests for information, complaints or disputes  by IZSLT and APRE.

Joint Data Controllers

As of June 16, 2023, the Joint Controller Agreement is in effect among B-THENET Partners link, except for UCM.  On a joint controllership basis and subject to the provisions of Article 26 of GDPR, the Parties shall jointly process personal data, for which they shall jointly determine the purposes and means. More information about the B-THENET Joint Controller Agreement is made available to interested Parties upon request.

Legal basis for processing personal data

For the above purposes, the legal basis of the processing is the consent of the data subject to the processing of his or her personal data [art. 6.1.a GDPR].

Data Subject Rights

In relation to his or her personal data, the data subject has the power to exercise the rights set out in Articles 15 to 21 under the GDPR.

In addition, the data subject has the right to withdraw his or her consent at any time. In this case, IZSLT and APRE shall remove the personal data of the data subject from the place where it was published as soon as possible.

Please note that it may be impossible to remove the personal data of the person concerned if they have already been included in a document that has already been published. Data and images will only be removed from future publications.

The above rights may be exercised in writing by sending an email to info@bthenet.eu specifying the name of the data subject and the “B-THENET” project. 

The data subject also has the right to lodge a complaint with “Garante per la Protezione dei dati personali”.

Data storage and retention

All personal data collected will be stored in a safe place at the website. Only authorised staff of IZSLT, APRE and LOBA (website developer) will have access to this information.

If the data subject does not exercise the right of withdrawal, the data will be kept in the Project Database for the time required by the purpose for which they were processed, and in any case no longer than the duration of the B-THENET project (31 August 2026).

This is without prejudice to any longer retention periods where required by legal obligations.

Data dissemination outside B-THENET

The personal data of the data subject may be accessible to the staff of IZSLT, APRE and LOBA. The mentioned B-THENET beneficiaries are subject to the application of the EU Regulation 679/2016 (GDPR) and its own ethical rules, taking into account national legislation. IZSLT and APRE will provide further information on the Partners’ data protection policy if requested by the data subject.

Specifically, requests by data subjects to exercise their data protection rights will be handled in a coordinated manner through the e-mail address info@bthenet.eu, which will be identified as the contact point in the data protection information provided to them.

Moreover, the data could be shared and used for other EU projects that may benefit from them after pseudonymization or anonymization and in accordance with the purpose of the consent given (Art. 25 of GDPR).

Transfer of data outside the European Union

IZSLT and APRE may carry out international transfers of the personal data processed during and after the lifecycle of the project and in the implementation of the project’s aims. In such case, the Parties agree to respect the CHAPTER V “Transfers of personal data to third countries or international organisations” of GDPR.

Changes and updates 

B-THENET Controllers may also make changes and/or additions to this privacy policy as a result of regulatory changes. Accordingly, the data Controller suggests that you frequently read this privacy policy on the project website.

Data Breach

In the case of a personal data breach, the event will be handled in accordance with Articles 33-34 of the GDPR EU 2016/679 and all necessary measures will be taken to minimise any negative consequences.