Terms & Conditions
AFARA Governance Inc Terms & Conditions
1. Introduction
These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) form a legal and binding agreement between
you and AFARA Governance Inc. (the “Company”, “Organization”, “we”, “us”,
or “ours”).
These Terms govern: (1) your access and use of our website at
www.afaragovernance.org, including all sections of the website, as well as any other
website or digital property where these Terms are posted (“Sites”); and (3) your access
and use of any services offered by us, whether through our Sites, educational
programs, events, social media channels or otherwise, including but not limited to any
paid services (“Services”).
2. Acceptance
Please read these Terms carefully. BY ACCESSING AND USING OUR SITES AND
SERVICES YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND AND ABIDE BY THESE TERMS. If you do
not want to agree to these Terms, you agree not to access or use the Sites or Services.
3. Dispute Resolution / Class and Representative Action Waiver
You agree that disputes between you and the Company concerning your access and
use of the Sites and Services will be resolved by the dispute resolution procedures set
forth in Section 23 below. You also agree to waive your right to participate in a class or
representative action. For more details on this process, please see Section 23 below.
4. Changes to the Terms of Use
We reserve the right to update and revise these Terms at any time. Changes are
effective immediately and apply to all use of the Sites and Services thereafter. Please
review these Terms regularly to ensure your continued use of the Sites and Services
constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If there are material changes to these
Terms, we may also reserve the right to provide you with notice of said changes in other
alternative manners, such as posting said changes to the Sites and Services and/or
communicating such changes to you directly.
5. Privacy
To learn more about how we collect and use your information when you engage with our
Sites and Services, please see our Privacy Policy.
6. Eligibility
Our Sites and Services are only available to individuals who are at least 18 years old, or
the age of majority in your province, territory, or country, and can form legally binding
contracts with us to use the Sites and Services. If you are under the age of 18, you may
not use our Sites or Services.
7. Donations
You agree to provide your payment information at the time you donate.
Our payment pages are powered by third party payment service providers. The
information you provide as part of the payment process is therefore governed by those
third-party’s respective privacy statements and terms. We are not responsible for the
performance of those services. During your use of the Services, the third-party payment
service provider may receive and implement updated credit card information from your
credit card issuer. This disbursement of the updated credit card information is provided
to third party payment service providers at the sole election of your credit card issuer.
Your credit card issuer may give you the right to opt-out of the update service. Should
you desire to do so, please contact your credit card issuer. We shall not be responsible
in any manner for banking charges incurred due to payments on your account.
8. Use of Site Materials and Services; Restrictions on Use
We may from time to time and in our sole discretion develop and provide updates to the
Sites and Services, change the Sites and Services, restrict access to the Sites and
Services or withdraw or terminate the Sites and Services entirely, and we reserve the
right to do so in our sole discretion without notice. Any such updates or changes will be
deemed part of the Sites and Services and subject to these Terms. We will not be liable
to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the Sites
and Services. In the event of modification or termination of the Sites and Services, you
will still be bound by your obligations under these Terms, including the warranties made
by you, and by the disclaimers and limitations of liability.
You may only use the Sites and Services as explicitly authorized and in compliance with
these Terms. You will not use such proprietary information or materials in any way
whatsoever except for permitted use of the Sites and Services. No portion of the Sites
and Services may be reproduced in any form or by any means. Without limiting the
foregoing, you may not do any of the following while accessing or using the Sites and
Services:
solicit members for any revenue generating endeavor, commercial enterprise, or
other purpose other than for personal, non-commercial use, without our express
written consent;
express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by the Company;
scrape the Sites or Services or use other automated or manual means to take
our content without our express prior written consent;
modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or convert
into human readable form any of the contents of the Sites and Services not
intended to be so read; take any action that imposes or may impose (as determined by us in our sole
discretion) an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our or our third
party providers’ infrastructure; interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Sites and Services
or any activities conducted on the Sites and Services; bypass, circumvent, or attempt to bypass or circumvent any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Sites and Services, including without
limitation other accounts, computer systems or networks connected to the Sites
and Services; run any form of auto-responder or “spam” on the Sites and
Services; access or use the Sites and Services for any illegal or unauthorized
purpose, including to harass, abuse, defame or otherwise infringe or violate the
rights of any other party; or otherwise take any action in violation of these Terms.
9. Internet
You acknowledge and agree that your use of the Sites and Services requires Internet
access and bandwidth and we do not own or control all aspects through which the Sites
and Services are provided and cannot guarantee the performance of such facilities,
equipment, and communications lines. The Internet is not a secure network, and third
parties may be able to intercept, accept, use, or corrupt the information you transmit or
receive over the Internet. We are not responsible for invalid, erroneous or corrupted
data.
10. Links to Third Party Websites
We may provide links to third party websites or services for you to access through our
Sites and Services. You acknowledge that if you access any such links you do so at
your sole discretion and for your information only. We do not review or endorse any of
those websites or services. Although a third-party website may contain our logo or other
intellectual property elements, please understand that it is independent from our
Company, and we have no control over the content of those websites or services.
These links do not imply endorsement of, sponsorship of, or affiliation with our
Company. We are not responsible in any way for: (a) the availability of, (b) the privacy
practices of, (c) the content, advertising, products, goods or other materials or
resources on or available from, or (d) the use to which others make of these other
websites and services. We are also not responsible for any damage, loss or offense
caused or alleged to be caused by, or in connection with, the use of or reliance on such
websites or services.
11. Social Media Community Terms
AFARA will not tolerate certain social media conduct whether indirectly or directly
targeting or relating to our Company, its members, officers, directors, employees,
personnel, or agents, including for example: (a) defamatory, malicious, obscene,
intimidating, discriminatory, harassing or threatening comments or hate propaganda; (b)
calls to violence of any kind or other threats of any kind; or (c) conduct that violates any
law or regulation. If we feel that you have breached these Terms, we reserve all our
rights to take further action, including but not limited to: (a) adding, removing, or
modifying any content, including comments, (ii) blocking you or any other disruptive
users; and (iii) discontinuing your use of any of our social media channels at any time.
In the event that you engage in (or direct or influence any person to engage in) any of
this prohibited conduct on your social media channels, or amongst its groups regarding
our Company or any of its officers, directors, employees, personnel, agents, policies,
services or products or other members, we may immediately terminate your use of the
Sites and Services, and our social media channels, and we reserve all legal rights to
pursue legal remedies against you.
12. Intellectual Property
Except as otherwise expressly granted to you in these Terms, we reserve and retain all
right, title and interest in the Sites and Services, including without limitation, all
technology and processes, enhancements, or modifications thereto, trademarks, service
marks, site design, text, video, graphics, logos, images, and icons, as well as the
arrangement thereof. You acknowledge that the Sites and Services contain proprietary
content, information and material protected by applicable intellectual property and other
laws, including but not limited to copyright and trademark laws, and you agree that,
except with our prior written consent or as explicitly provided in these Terms: (1) using
the Sites and Services does not give you any ownership of any intellectual property
rights in our Sites or Services; and (2) using the Sites and Services does not grant you
the right to display, modify, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, download,
store, transmit or otherwise use any of our intellectual property. Any unauthorized use of
any content or materials on the Sites or Services is strictly prohibited and violates
copyright, trademark, and/or other intellectual property laws, and/or the laws of privacy,
publicity, and/or communications regulations and statutes.
In particular, content not explicitly indicated as downloadable may not be downloaded or
copied from the Sites or Services. You may not otherwise download, display, copy,
reproduce, distribute, modify, perform, transfer, create derivative works from, sell, or
otherwise exploit any content, code, data, or materials in the Sites or Services. If you
make other use of the Sites or Services, or the content, code, data, or materials
thereon, except as otherwise provided, you may violate copyright and other laws of the
United States, other countries, as well as applicable state laws and may be subject to
liability for such unauthorized use. You must not access or use for any commercial
purposes any part of the Sites or Services, any services, or any materials available
through the Sites or Services affiliated with the membership program. You acknowledge
and agree that you do not acquire any ownership interest in the Sites and Services
under these Terms, or any other rights thereto other than to use the Sites and Services
in accordance with the license granted. Appropriate legal action may be taken for any
illegal or unauthorized use of the Sites or Services.
To inquire about obtaining authorization to use the materials or content other than as
permitted in these Terms, please contact us at info@afaragovernance.org.
13. Third Party Materials and Content
You understand that the Sites and Services may display, include, or make available
content, data, information, applications, or materials from third parties or provide links to
certain third-party web sites (“Third-Party Materials”). In consideration for us allowing
you to use the Services, you agree that we, our affiliates, and third-party partners may
place advertising on the Services. You acknowledge and agree that the Company is not
responsible for examining or evaluating the content, accuracy, completeness,
timeliness, validity, copyright compliance, legality, decency, quality, or any other aspect
of such Third-Party Materials. We expressly disclaim any responsibility for all aspects of
the Third-Party Materials, and you further acknowledge and agree that we shall not be
responsible or liable, directly, or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to
be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services
in connection with any Third-Party Materials. Use of any third-party trademarks or third-
party content on or in connection with the Sites or Services does not constitute affiliation
with or endorsement of these third parties. Nothing in these Terms grants you any
license to third-party trademarks or content, which shall remain the property of their
respective owners.
14. Availability of the Sites and Services
Although we aim to offer you the best service possible, we make no promise that the
Sites and Services will meet your requirements and we cannot guarantee that the Sites
and Services will be fault free. If a fault occurs in our Sites and Services, please report it
to us at info@afaragovernance.org, and we will review your complaint and, where we
determine it appropriate to do so, correct the fault. We will not be liable to you if the
Sites and Services are unavailable from time to time. Your access to the Sites and
Services may be occasionally restricted to allow for repairs, maintenance or the
introduction of new Sites and Services. We will restore the Sites and Services as soon
as we reasonably can.
15. Warranty Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability
THE SITES AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY
OF ANY KIND.
WE DO NOT EXCLUDE OR LIMIT IN ANY WAY OUR LIABILITY TO YOU WHERE IT
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO. THIS INCLUDES LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR
PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY OUR NEGLIGENCE, OR THE NEGLIGENCE OF
OUR EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR SUBCONTRACTORS AND FOR FRAUD OR
FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE COMPANY DISCLAIMS ALL
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO
THE SITES AND SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT ON THE SITES AND SERVICES,
WHETHER PROVIDED OR OWNED BY THE COMPANY OR BY ANY THIRD PARTY,
INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, FREEDOM
FROM COMPUTER VIRUS, AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM
COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, OR USAGE IN TRADE, ALL
OF WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. IN ADDITION, YOU ASSUME TOTAL
RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITES AND SERVICES AND
THE COMPANY DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT
ANY OF THE SITES AND SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH
ANY OF THE SITES AND SERVICES IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, AVAILABLE,
CURRENT, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS OR
DEFECTS, OR THAT THE SITES AND SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR
REQUIREMENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN,
OBTAINED BY YOU FROM COMPANY SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT
EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN.
IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, OR
SUPPLIERS, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS,
AGENTS, OR REPRESENTATIVES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT,
CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES,
OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUE, WHETHER DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY ARISING, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF SALES,
PROFIT, REVENUE, GOODWILL, OR DOWNTIME, (ARISING UNDER TORT,
CONTRACT, OR OTHER LAW) REGARDLESS OF SUCH PARTY’S BREACH OF
CONTRACT OR NEGLIGENCE OR WHETHER SUCH PARTY KNEW OR SHOULD
HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOU UNDERSTAND
AND AGREE THAT THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY MATERIALS IN CONNECTION WITH
THE SERVICES IS DONE AT YOUR DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL
BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER
SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE DOWNLOAD OR
UPLOAD OF ANY MATERIAL. COMPANY NEITHER ASSUMES, NOR DOES IT
AUTHORIZE ANY OTHER PERSON TO ASSUME ON ITS BEHALF, ANY OTHER
LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICES. IF,
NOTWITHSTANDING THE OTHER PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS OF USE,
COMPANY IS FOUND TO BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS WHICH
ARISES OUT OF OR IS IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF ANY
SERVICES, COMPANY’S LIABILITY SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE GREATER
OF (1) THE TOTAL OF ANY FEES PAID BY YOU TO COMPANY IN THE SIX (6)
MONTHS PRIOR TO THE DATE THE CLAIM IS ASSERTED FOR ANY OF THE
SERVICES OR FEATURE RELEVANT TO THE CLAIM, OR (2) US$500.00.
THESE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY ARE MADE TO THE
FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
16. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates, licensors
and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees,
contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns from and against any
claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees
(including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these
Terms or your use of the Sites and Services or your use of any information obtained
through use of the Services.
17. Severability
If it turns out that any part of these Terms is invalid, void, or for any reason
unenforceable, that term will be deemed severable and limited or eliminated to the
minimum extent necessary. The limitation or elimination of the term will not affect any
other terms.
18. Dispute Resolution, Class / Representative Action Waiver
18.1 Disputes. The terms of this section shall apply to all Disputes between you
and the Company. For the purposes of this section, “Dispute” shall mean any
dispute, claim, controversy or action between you and the Company, including
but not limited to disputes concerning these Terms, your use of the Sites and
Services, and/or privacy or publicity rights, whether in contract, warranty,
misrepresentation, fraud, tort, intentional tort, statute, regulation, ordinance, or
any other legal or equitable basis. YOU AND THE COMPANY AGREE THAT
“DISPUTE” AS DEFINED IN THESE TERMS SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY
CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION BY AFARA GOVERNANCE INC FOR (1)
TRADE SECRET MISAPPROPRIATION; (2) PATENT INFRINGEMENT; (3)
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OR MISUSE; AND/OR (4) TRADEMARK
INFRINGEMENT OR DILUTION.
18.2 Dispute Notice. In the event of a Dispute, you or the Company must first
send to the other party a notice of the Dispute that shall include a written
statement that sets forth the name, address, and contact information of the
party giving it, the facts giving rise to the Dispute, and the relief requested (the
“Dispute Notice”). The Dispute Notice to the Company must be sent to
info@afaragovernance.org. The Dispute Notice to you will be sent by certified
mail to the most recent address we have on file or otherwise in our records for
you, or via email if we do not have any such address on file.
18.3 Informal Efforts. As a prerequisite for submitting a Dispute to mediation,
you and the Company agree to make good faith efforts at resolving any Dispute
informally. If you and the Company do not reach an agreement to resolve the
Dispute within sixty (60) calendar days after the Dispute Notice is received, you
or the Company may commence with mediation as outlined below.
18.4 Mediation. If informal efforts fail, the Dispute must first be submitted for
non-binding mediation before a neutral third party before it may proceed
elsewhere. Selecting the mediator, the appropriate terms for mediation
(including costs), and a date for mediation shall be negotiated in good faith
between you and the Company. The administrative fees associated with
mediation will be negotiated between you and the Company. Such fees will not
include attorneys’ fees and costs, if any, unless awarded during mediation. If
the parties cannot agree to appropriate terms concerning mediation, the parties
shall be entitled to proceed with any other remedy available by law.
18.5 Small Claims Court. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may bring an
individual action in the small claims court of your state, municipality, province or
territory if the action is within that court’s jurisdiction and is pending only in that
court.
18.6 WAIVER OF CLASS AND REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS. YOU AGREE
THAT YOU MAY BRING DISPUTES AGAINST AFARA GOVERNANCE INC IN
AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER
IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING,
INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FEDERAL OR STATE CLASS ACTIONS.
18.7 Amendments to this Section. Notwithstanding any provision in these
Terms, you and AFARA GOVERNANCE INC agree that if AFARA makes any
material amendments to the dispute resolution procedure in this Section 23, the
Company will notify you and you will have thirty (30) calendar days from the
date of notice to affirmatively opt-out of any such amendments by sending a
written letter to the Company Notice Address that specifies: (1) your name; (2)
your mailing address; and (3) your request to opt-out of such amendments. If
you do not affirmatively opt-out of any future amendments, you will be deemed
to have consented to any such future amendments.
18.8 Severability. If any provision in this Section is found to be unenforceable,
that provision shall be severed with the remainder of these Terms remaining in
full force and effect. The foregoing shall not apply to the prohibition against
class or representative actions; if the prohibition against class or representative
actions is found to be unenforceable, this entire Section shall be null and void.
The terms of this Section shall otherwise survive any termination of these
Terms.
18.9 Exclusive Venue For Other Controversies. The Company and you agree
that any controversy excluded from the dispute resolution procedure outlined
above shall be filed only in the courts located within Wake County, North
Carolina, and each party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consents and
submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts for any such Dispute.
19. Entire Agreement
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company and
supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether
electronic, oral, or written with respect to these Services. Any rights not expressly
granted herein are reserved. Each party confirms that it has not relied upon, and shall
have no remedy in respect of any agreement, warranty, statement, representation or
undertaking unless set out expressly in these Terms.
20. Third Parties
A person who is not a party to these Terms shall have no rights under the Contracts
(Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of these Terms.
21. Force Majeure
We will not be liable for any failure to perform any of our obligations stated in these
Terms if the failure results from a cause beyond our reasonable control, including,
without limitation, mechanical, electronic or communications failure or degradation, acts
of government and/or acts of war (including but not limited to any cyber attacks publicly
or privately attributable to a state or non-state actor), labor disputes (whether relating to
our workforce), public health emergencies (including but not limited to a pandemic),
restraints or delays affecting carriers, or our inability or delay in obtaining supplies of
adequate or suitable materials.
22. Assignment
You cannot assign, transfer, or sublicense these Terms without first obtaining our
consent. We may assign, transfer, or delegate any of our rights and obligations without
consent. These Terms do not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, or
employment relationship, and neither party has any authority to bind the other in any
respect.
23. Waiver
If we do not enforce any part of these Terms, it does not mean we give up the right to
later enforce that or any other part of these Terms. For any waiver of compliance with
these Terms to be binding, we must provide you with written notice of such waiver
through one of our authorized representatives.
24. Comments, Concerns and Complaints
All feedback, comments, requests for technical support and other communications
relating to the Services should be directed to: info@afaragovernance.org