Photography, Media and Consent Policy

"bee Charity" Verein (“BeeCharity”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is a Swiss association (Verein) with its seat in Dübendorf, Canton of Zurich, registered in the Commercial Register Office of the Canton of Zurich under UID CHE-457.076.818. Photographs, video and other media are powerful ways to show the reality of our environmental and humanitarian work — from our coastal cleanups to our children's healthcare programme — but the people in those images have rights and dignity that must always come first.

The purpose of this Photography, Media and Consent Policy is to set out how we capture, use, store and share images and other media of people connected with our work, and how we obtain and respect their consent. It exists to ensure that everyone we photograph or film is treated with respect, that their consent is genuine and informed, and that our use of media never puts anyone — least of all a child or a person receiving healthcare — at risk of harm, exploitation or loss of dignity.

This policy applies to everyone who takes, commissions, uses or shares images or media on behalf of BeeCharity, including board members, volunteers, contractors and partners, wherever in the world they are working. It places particular emphasis on photography involving children and in healthcare settings, where the risks are greatest and the highest standards apply. It should be read together with our Safeguarding and Child Protection, Privacy, Data Retention and Responsible Fundraising policies. It has been formally adopted by the board and is published in the spirit of transparency.

We do not photograph or film identifiable individuals for BeeCharity’s use without their informed consent, and we treat consent as an ongoing agreement rather than a one-off formality. Informed consent means that, before we use their image, a person understands who we are, what we are photographing or filming, how the image may be used and where it may appear, how long we expect to keep it, and that they are free to say no or to change their mind later without any disadvantage.

Wherever practical we obtain consent in a recorded form — for example a signed or digital consent form — that identifies the person, explains the intended uses (such as our website, social media, printed materials or fundraising appeals), and makes clear the right to withdraw. We explain things in a language and manner the person genuinely understands, taking care where there may be language, literacy, age or other barriers, and we never pressure anyone to agree. Consent obtained for one purpose does not extend to unrelated purposes: if we later want to use an image in a materially different way, we seek fresh consent.

Under both the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP) and, where it applies, the EU GDPR, images of identifiable people are personal data, and images revealing sensitive matters — such as a person’s health — attract additional protection. We therefore treat consent for photography as part of our data-protection responsibilities, keep a record of the consent given, and handle the resulting images in accordance with our Privacy and Data Retention policies. Where we cannot obtain proper consent, we do not use identifiable images, and we rely instead on non-identifying images or other content.

Photography and filming involving children demand the greatest care, and we apply the highest standards to protect them. A child’s best interests always take priority over any communications or fundraising benefit an image might bring, and if there is ever any doubt about whether it is appropriate to take or use an image of a child, we do not do so. All such activity is governed by this policy together with our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

We do not photograph or film an identifiable child for BeeCharity’s use without the informed consent of the child’s parent or legal guardian, and, wherever the child is old enough to understand, the willing agreement (assent) of the child themselves. A child’s reluctance is always respected, regardless of adult consent. We ensure children are portrayed with dignity and respect, appropriately clothed and in appropriate settings, and never in any way that is degrading, distressing or open to misuse. We take care that images and their accompanying information do not reveal a child’s full name, precise location, school, home or other details that could enable them to be identified or traced, and we never pair a child’s image with personal contact details.

We are alert to the particular risks of images of children being misused, including online, and we apply this caution to every stage from capture to publication. Photography of children in the communities we support, or in connection with our healthcare programme, is subject to the additional healthcare and safeguarding standards set out below and in our Safeguarding Policy. Only people who have a legitimate role and, where required, appropriate background checks take or handle images of children on our behalf, and such images are stored with the enhanced security described later in this policy. Consent given by a parent or guardian, or assent given by a child, can be withdrawn at any time, and we will act on that withdrawal as described below.

Photography and filming in healthcare settings, or of people receiving care through our children’s healthcare programme, is especially sensitive because it often involves children, because it may reveal information about a person’s health, and because patients are frequently in a position of vulnerability. We treat health-related images as sensitive personal data attracting the strongest protection, and we apply particularly rigorous consent and safeguarding standards, always subordinating any communications value to the welfare and dignity of the patient.

We do not photograph or film a patient — and especially not a child patient — receiving care without specific, informed and clearly recorded consent from the patient and, for a child, from their parent or legal guardian, together with the child’s own assent where they are able to give it. That consent must specifically cover the healthcare context and any depiction of a medical condition or treatment, and we make clear that a person’s care will never be affected in any way by whether or not they agree to be photographed. We never allow photography to interfere with, delay or intrude upon the provision of care, and clinical need always comes first. We also respect the requirements of the healthcare partners and settings we work with, and obtain any additional permissions they require.

We take particular care that healthcare images preserve dignity and privacy: we avoid unnecessary exposure of the body, we do not capture other patients or confidential information in the background, and we do not use images in a way that reveals a person’s medical condition without their explicit, specific consent to that use. We are especially cautious about images that could identify a vulnerable child patient, and we apply the child-protection standards above in full. Health-related images are stored with the enhanced security described below, with access strictly limited, and are retained only for as long as genuinely necessary in line with our Data Retention Policy. Where consent is limited, uncertain or withdrawn, we do not use the image.

Our volunteers are often photographed while taking part in our activities — for example during a beach cleanup — and we extend the same respect for consent and dignity to them as to anyone else. We let volunteers know when photography or filming is taking place, we explain how images may be used, and we obtain their consent before using identifiable images of them for our website, social media, fundraising or other communications.

Volunteering with BeeCharity does not oblige anyone to appear in our media, and no volunteer is ever pressured to be photographed or disadvantaged for declining. Volunteers may ask not to be photographed, or ask that a particular image not be used, and we will respect that. We also ask volunteers, in turn, to follow this policy when they take photographs in the course of their role: to respect the consent and dignity of others, to take particular care around children and in healthcare settings, and not to publish or share images of beneficiaries �� especially children — on their own personal accounts. Guidance on volunteers’ responsibilities also appears in our Volunteer Policy and Code of Conduct.

At events and group activities such as cleanups, community gatherings or fundraising occasions, it is not always practical to obtain an individually signed consent form from every person present, and we handle this responsibly and transparently. Where we intend to take photographs or film at an event, we make this clear in advance and on the day — for example through notices, information at registration, or a briefing — so that people know photography is taking place and can make an informed choice.

We provide a straightforward way for anyone who does not wish to be photographed to make that known and to be excluded from images, and we respect such requests. We take particular care at events that involve children: even in a group setting we rely on parental consent before using identifiable images of a child, and general event notices are not treated as a substitute for the specific consent required for children and for healthcare-related imagery. When we photograph groups, we remain mindful of dignity and context and avoid singling out or embarrassing individuals.

For events hosted with partners or on premises controlled by others, we also respect any photography rules that apply in that setting and coordinate with the hosts. Images captured at events are used only in ways consistent with what attendees were told, and are stored and retained in accordance with this policy and our Data Retention Policy.

Social media allows us to share our work widely, but publication online is far-reaching, hard to take back, and open to copying and misuse, so we apply this policy with particular care before posting any image or video. We only publish media of identifiable people where we have appropriate consent for that kind of public use, and we are especially cautious with any content involving children or healthcare, applying the enhanced standards above in full.

When we post images of children we do so only with parental consent for online publication, we never include information that could identify or locate a child (such as a full name, school or precise location), and we disable or avoid features that could reveal location data. We do not publish healthcare images that reveal a person’s medical condition without their explicit, specific consent to that public use. We are mindful that once an image is online it may be downloaded, altered or re-shared beyond our control, and we take this irreversibility into account when deciding whether publication is appropriate at all — if in doubt, we do not post.

We manage our own social-media channels responsibly, we do not tag individuals in ways that could compromise their privacy or safety, and we respond promptly to any request to remove an image. We also ask volunteers, partners and supporters not to re-share images of beneficiaries — particularly children — in ways that would breach this policy. Our use of social media is consistent with our Responsible Fundraising Policy, including its commitment not to use images out of context or in a misleading way, and with our Privacy Policy.

Consent to photography and media is never permanent or irrevocable: anyone who has agreed to be photographed or filmed — or a parent or guardian who has consented on behalf of a child — may withdraw that consent at any time, and a child may also make clear that they no longer wish an image to be used. We make this right clear when we obtain consent, and we make it easy to exercise.

When someone withdraws consent, we stop using the relevant image or media in materials within our control going forward, and we remove it from our website and our own social-media channels as soon as we reasonably can. We will also take reasonable steps to withdraw the image from future editions of materials and from ongoing campaigns. We are honest, however, about the limits of what is possible: where material has already been printed and distributed, or where an image has already been copied or re-shared by others online, we may not be able to retrieve every existing copy — but we will always do what is within our power and act promptly and in good faith.

To withdraw consent, or to ask us to remove or stop using an image, a person can contact us using the details in the Contact chapter below, and we will confirm what we have done. Withdrawing consent will never disadvantage anyone, and in particular will never affect a person’s care, their ability to volunteer, or their relationship with us. Requests concerning images are also handled as part of individuals’ data-protection rights under our Privacy and Data Retention policies.

Images and other media of identifiable people are personal data, and we store them securely for as long as we hold them, applying stronger protection to the most sensitive material — in particular images of children and any health-related images — in line with our Privacy and Data Retention policies and the security requirements of the revFADP and, where applicable, the GDPR.

In practice, this means we keep images in reputable, access-controlled systems, we restrict access to those who genuinely need it for their role, and we keep the number of people who can view or handle sensitive images — especially of children and patients — to a minimum. We store consent records alongside, or clearly linked to, the images to which they relate, so that we can always tell what a given image may and may not be used for. We avoid holding sensitive images on personal or unsecured devices, we take care over where and how images are transferred, and we handle any breach involving images in accordance with our Privacy Policy, including notification where required.

We keep images only for as long as we have a genuine need and valid consent to do so, and we then securely delete or irreversibly anonymise them in accordance with our Data Retention Policy; sensitive images, including those of children and health-related images, are kept for the shortest period reasonably necessary. When consent is withdrawn or a retention period ends, the secure-destruction process in our Data Retention Policy applies to the relevant images.

This policy was formally adopted by the board and is reviewed at least annually, or sooner if there is a relevant change in the revFADP, the GDPR or other applicable law, in recognised safeguarding or communications good practice, or in the nature and scale of our activities. As BeeCharity grows and undertakes more media activity, particularly involving children and healthcare, we will strengthen these standards accordingly.

Any material change to this policy is approved under our joint signing authority, with two authorised representatives acting together. The version and status shown at the top of this page reflect its current standing as a policy formally adopted by the board, and we will update the version history when it is adopted or amended. This policy operates alongside our Safeguarding and Child Protection, Privacy, Data Retention and Responsible Fundraising policies.

If you have any question about this policy, if you wish to give or withdraw consent, or if you would like us to remove or stop using an image, please contact us and we will be glad to help. Requests relating to children or to healthcare images are treated with particular priority and care.

Photography, media and consent enquiries: beecharity1@gmail.com

Safeguarding concerns: beecharity1@gmail.com

Privacy and image-removal requests: beecharity1@gmail.com

Postal address: "bee Charity" Verein, c/o Jasmin Semra Gabrielli, Bahnhofstrasse 33, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland