Privacy Policy

The German version is legally binding.

1. Controller

The controller responsible for data processing on this website is:

German-Qatar Institute GmbH
An der Magistrale 120
06124 Halle (Saale)
Germany
Phone: +49 345 5636 8710
Email: info@german-qatar.de

Represented by the Managing Director, Ming Cheng.

2. General information

We process personal data only to the extent necessary to operate this website, provide our content or respond to your enquiries. We use no tracking and no third-party analytics tools and do not create user profiles. For our own privacy-friendly visitor statistics without cookies, see section 4.

3. Hosting and provision via Cloudflare

This website is provided using services of Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA ("Cloudflare"). In particular, we use Cloudflare Workers as well as the database and storage services Cloudflare D1 and Cloudflare R2.

When you access our website, Cloudflare processes technically necessary data. This may include, in particular, the IP address, the date and time of access, the page or file requested, browser and operating system information, and referrer information.

The processing is carried out for the purpose of providing our website securely, reliably and efficiently and of protecting it against misuse and attacks. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the secure and functional provision of our online service.

Cloudflare processes personal data on our behalf on the basis of a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR.

Processing of personal data outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, in particular in the USA, cannot be ruled out. Cloudflare is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Where its requirements are met, data is transferred on the basis of the European Commission's adequacy decision pursuant to Art. 45 GDPR. In addition, Cloudflare uses the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses as a further safeguard for international data transfers.

4. Visitor statistics

To understand how our website is used, we keep our own visitor statistics. Counting takes place exclusively on our server (Cloudflare Workers, see section 3) on the basis of the information your browser transmits anyway when a page is requested. No script is run in your browser, no cookies are set and no information is stored on or read from your device.

Only aggregated daily totals are stored:

  • the page requested,
  • the website you came from (only its domain, e.g. google.com),
  • the country derived from the IP address,
  • the device type (computer, smartphone or tablet) and
  • the language version of the website.

IP addresses are not stored. The browser identifier is evaluated only at the moment of the request in order to determine the device type and exclude automated access (bots); it is not stored. Individual visitors can neither be identified nor recognised, and no user profiles are created.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in understanding the reach and use of our online service and improving it. The daily totals are deleted automatically after about 26 months.

5. Contact form and contact by email

If you contact us via the contact form or by email, we process the data you provide (e.g. name, email address, message) in order to respond to your enquiry. Enquiries submitted via the contact form are stored in our internal inbox.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where your enquiry relates to a contract or pre-contractual measures, and otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in handling enquiries). We delete your data once your enquiry has been fully dealt with, unless statutory retention obligations apply.

6. Cookies and storage in your browser

We use only technically necessary cookies:

  • Language cookie: stores the language you have selected (German, English or Arabic).
  • Login cookie: set only in the protected administration area for logged-in staff.

In addition, we store in your browser's local storage only settings that you make yourself:

  • Day or night mode: when you switch the display.
  • Video release: when you choose to always load videos from a particular provider on this website (see section 7).

This information remains on your device and is not transmitted to us. You can delete it at any time via your browser settings.

The legal basis is § 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG (German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act) and Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Consent is not required for this.

7. Embedded videos (two-click solution)

Videos from YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo, TikTok, LinkedIn or Facebook may be embedded on our website. They are loaded only when you actively click on the video. Until then, no connection is established to these providers' servers.

By clicking, you consent to the video being loaded. In particular, your IP address and technical information are transmitted to the respective provider, which may also set cookies. Some of these providers are based in the USA or other third countries. The legal basis is your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25(1) TDDDG. Further information can be found in the privacy policies of the respective providers.

8. Fonts

The fonts used on this website are stored locally on our server. No connection to third-party servers (e.g. Google Fonts) is established when you visit the website.

9. Links to social networks

Our website contains links to our profiles on social networks. These are simple links; data is only transmitted when you click on a link and visit the respective network's page. The privacy policy of the respective provider applies there.

Below articles, news and events we offer share buttons (e.g. WhatsApp, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, email). These are also simple links: only when you click a button is the respective service called up and given the address of the shared page. On smartphones, your device's own share function can be used instead.

10. Our presence on social networks

We maintain a profile on Instagram (instagram.com/germanqatar). The provider is Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Ireland ("Meta"). Further profiles, e.g. on LinkedIn or YouTube, are linked on this website once they exist; the following applies to them accordingly with the respective provider.

When you visit our profile, interact with our posts or send us messages, the network operator processes your data (e.g. usage and device data, including by means of cookies) in accordance with its own terms. This may involve transfers to the USA or other third countries. We have no influence on this processing.

We are jointly responsible with Meta for the statistics that Meta provides to us on the use of our profile (so-called Insights) (Art. 26 GDPR; CJEU, judgment of 5 June 2018, C-210/16). We only receive aggregated analyses and cannot draw conclusions about individual persons. You can exercise your rights both against us and directly against Meta.

We process messages and comments that you send us via a social network in order to respond to them. The legal basis for operating our profiles and communicating through them is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest lies in providing information about our work and exchanging with interested parties. Further information can be found in Instagram's privacy policy: privacycenter.instagram.com/policy.

11. "Key Players" overview

In the "Key Players" section (Information → Key Players) we present institutions and companies in the German-Qatari context, e.g. embassies, schools, chambers as well as companies and service providers. We publish there only information about the respective institution that is publicly available and that we generally take from its website or publications or receive from it: name, description, logo, photos, address, general telephone number and general email address, website and social media profiles.

We do not publish the names or personal contact details of individual staff members; current contact persons can be found on the website of the respective institution. Where information nevertheless relates to a person (e.g. if a company bears the name of its owner), the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest lies in providing information about the key players in German-Qatari relations.

Inclusion in this overview does not imply a partnership or recommendation. Data subjects may at any time request the correction or deletion of their information or object to publication – a message to info@german-qatar.de is sufficient.

12. Your rights

You have the following rights with regard to your personal data:

  • Right of access (Art. 15 GDPR)
  • Right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR)
  • Right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
  • Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
  • Right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
  • Right to withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR)

Right to object: Where we process data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, you may object to the processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR).

To exercise your rights, simply send a message to info@german-qatar.de.

13. Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. The authority responsible for us is:

Der Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz Sachsen-Anhalt (State Commissioner for Data Protection of Saxony-Anhalt)
Leiterstraße 9
39104 Magdeburg
Germany

14. Updates

We will update this privacy policy if our website or the legal requirements change. The version published here applies.

Last updated: October 2026