Website Terms of Use
Effective date:
Introduction and Acceptance of Terms
These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern access to and use of the website located at africaclimatecollaborative.aau.org (the "Site"), operated by the Association of African Universities ("AAU") on behalf of the Africa Climate Collaborative, a pan-African initiative supported by the Mastercard Foundation (together, "the Collaborative," "we," "us," or "our").
By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Site.
These Terms apply to all visitors, including prospective students, researchers, partner-institution staff, donors, media, and members of the public. If you are accessing the Site on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have the authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.
About This Website
The Site is an informational resource about the Africa Climate Collaborative's mission, partner universities, workstreams, events and convenings, and related news and publications. The Site does not currently process payments, sell goods or services, or offer e-commerce functionality of any kind.
The Site does not currently require visitors to register for an account. A restricted partner portal for institutional collaborators is planned for a future phase; when it launches, additional terms governing account registration, credentials, and permitted use of restricted content will be added to these Terms and will apply to registered users.
Intellectual Property Rights
Unless otherwise stated, all content on the Site - including text, graphics, the Africa Climate Collaborative logo and brand marks, photographs, videos, data visualisations, and the design and layout of the Site - is owned by or licensed to AAU and/or the Africa Climate Collaborative and is protected by applicable copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws.
The Mastercard Foundation name and logo appear on the Site under a partnership arrangement and remain the property of the Mastercard Foundation. Partner-university names and logos (Association of African Universities, University of Cambridge, University of Cape Town, University of Ghana, Makerere University) are used with each institution's permission and remain the property of their respective owners.
You may view, download and print material from the Site for your own personal, non-commercial, informational use, provided you do not remove or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notice. You may not reproduce, republish, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from any Site content for commercial purposes, or use any logo or brand mark in a way that suggests endorsement or affiliation, without our prior written permission.
Acceptable Use
When using the Site, you agree not to:
- Use the Site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Site, its servers, or any connected system or network
- Introduce viruses, malware, or other harmful code, or otherwise interfere with the Site's operation, security, or availability
- Use automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access or extract content from the Site, except as permitted by robots.txt or with our prior written consent
- Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with the Collaborative or any partner institution
- Submit false, misleading, defamatory, or unlawful content through any form on the Site
- Infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of AAU, the Collaborative, its partners, or any third party
We reserve the right to restrict or terminate access to the Site, without notice, for anyone we reasonably believe has violated these Terms.
User Submissions and Contact Forms
The Site's contact forms allow you to submit your name, email address, and a message to the Collaborative's secretariat. By submitting a form, you confirm the information you provide is accurate and that you have the right to share it.
Please do not submit sensitive personal information (such as financial account details, government identification numbers, or health information) through any form on the Site. We will handle information you submit in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Submitting a form does not guarantee a response, and response times are not guaranteed. We may retain submitted information for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to your enquiry and for our internal records, consistent with our Privacy Policy - see its "Information we collect" and "How we use your information" sections for what happens to information submitted through this Site's forms.
If a restricted partner portal is introduced in future, registered users will additionally be bound by account-specific terms covering login credentials, permitted use of restricted content, and account termination, to be issued at that time.
Third-Party Links and Partner Content
The Site contains links to third-party websites, including the Mastercard Foundation and partner-institution websites (Association of African Universities, University of Cambridge, University of Cape Town, University of Ghana, Makerere University) and social media platforms. These links are provided for your convenience.
We do not control, and are not responsible for, the content, accuracy, or privacy practices of any third-party website. Inclusion of a link does not imply our endorsement of that site or its content. You access third-party websites at your own risk and subject to their own terms of use and privacy policies — see also our Privacy Policy's "Third-party links" section for how information related to third-party sites is handled on this Site.
Privacy and Data Protection
Our collection and use of personal information through the Site is described in full in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. In particular, see the Privacy Policy's "Information we collect" and "How we use your information" sections for what we collect and why, "Sharing your information" for how data may be shared with third parties, "Cookies policy" for cookie use, and "Updates to this policy" for how that page is kept current.
As AAU's secretariat is based in Ghana, the Site's data handling is designed with reference to Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843). Visitors from other jurisdictions, including the European Union and United Kingdom (General Data Protection Regulation) and other African Union member states with their own data protection laws, may have additional rights under their local law; where those laws apply, we intend to honour them, and you should refer to the Privacy Policy for how to exercise those rights.
Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
The Site and its content are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, availability, or fitness for a particular purpose. While we make reasonable efforts to keep Site content current and accurate - including information on programmes, events, and convenings - we do not warrant that the Site will be error-free, uninterrupted, or secure at all times.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, AAU and the Africa Climate Collaborative, and their respective officers, staff, and partner institutions, will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising from your access to or use of, or inability to access or use, the Site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless AAU, the Africa Climate Collaborative, and their respective officers, staff, and partner institutions from any claim, liability, damage, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms or your misuse of the Site.
Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ghana, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the Site will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ghana.
Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the Site's functionality (including the planned partner portal), or applicable law. The effective date at the top of this page shows when these Terms were last revised. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact Information
Questions about these Terms may be directed to:
Association of African Universities Secretariat Trinity Avenue, Next to NCTE, NAB and NAPBTEX East Legon, Accra P. O. Box AN 5744, Accra-North, Ghana
Email: africaclimatecollaborative@aau.org
Phone: +233 30 277 4495