Visa Everywhere Pioneer 20 – Terms & Conditions

Updated: 26 April 2024

These are the terms and conditions (“Terms”) that apply to the Visa Everywhere Pioneer 20 list organised by We Are The City in association with Visa (“Awards”). By submitting a nomination and/or participating as a nominee in these Awards, you agree to these Terms and confirm that you have read and understood the We Are The City Privacy Notice at https://wearethecity.com/privacy-policy and the Visa Privacy Notice at https://www.visa.co.uk/legal/global-privacy-notice.html.

In particular, please see the “Nominee grant of rights” section below, which explains how any materials submitted by and/or about you will be used. Please also see the “Liability” section, which explains how we limit our liability.

1. Organiser:We Are The City Limited, a company incorporated and registered in England and Wales with registered company number 06369225 and registered office address at Suite 9, Hadleigh Business Centre 351 London Road, Hadleigh, Benfleet, England, SS7 2BT, is the organiser of, and responsible for the operation of, these Awards (“Organiser”).
2. Visa:The Awards are run in association with Visa Europe Limited (“Visa”). A representative of Visa will be involved in these Awards as a member of the judging panel, but otherwise Organiser is solely responsible for the operation of these Awards.
3. Nomination period:The Awards open for submissions at 3:00 pm (UK time) on 5 March 2024 and close at 11:59 pm (UK time) on 17 May 2024 (“Nomination Period”). All supporting information must be submitted by relevant nominees by 11:59 pm (UK time) on 17 May 2024.
4. Eligibility of Nominators:If you wish to submit a nomination in these Awards, you must be an NGO, registered charity, foundation or other public or private sector organisation that in each case: (i) is registered or otherwise established in one of the 27 EU Member States or Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, Iceland, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine or the United Kingdom; and (ii) operates an active programme supporting refugees. You may also nominate yourself in these Awards as long as you satisfy the eligibility criteria for a Nominee (see below). Those who submit a nomination in these Awards are referred to in these Terms as “Nominators”.
5. Eligibility of Nominees:To be nominated in these Awards, or to nominate yourself, you must be: (i) an individual woman aged 18+ (or, if higher, the age of majority in your place of residence); (ii) a legal resident of one of the 27 EU Member States or Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, Iceland, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine or the United Kingdom; (iii) a person who owns at least 51% of a business that has been registered as a business entity for at least one year and that has a product or service in a market and generating revenue with a physical or digital presence such as a store, website or similar; and either: (iv) a person who has been granted official refugee status as a result of a Refugee Status Determination (“RSD”). For more information on RSDs, please see the website of the UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, at https://www.unhcr.org/what-we-do/protect-human-rights/protection/refugee-status-determination; or (v) a citizen of Ukraine who does not have a refugee status, is legally staying in Poland on the basis of the provisions of the Act of March 12, 2022 on assistance to Ukrainian citizens in connection with an armed conflict in the territory of that country (pol. Ustawa z dnia 12 marca 2022 r. o pomocy obywatelom Ukrainy w związku z konfliktem zbrojnym na terytorium tego państwa) and has a valid residence title in Poland or a citizen of Ukraine who does not have a refugee status, is legally staying in Poland on a different basis in connection with the armed conflict in Ukraine and has a valid residence title in Poland.  Those who are nominated in these Awards are referred to in these Terms as “Nominees”. If you wish to nominate yourself in these Awards, you must comply with all Nominator and Nominee obligations in these Terms.
6. Not eligible:The following individuals are not eligible to be Nominators or Nominees in these Awards, even if they meet the above criteria: (i) any employee, contractor or other individual engaged by the Organiser or Visa or any of their respective affiliates and group companies; (ii) members of the immediate family and/or household (whether related or not) of any of those individuals; and (iii) anyone else professionally involved or associated with the operation, promotion or administration of the Awards. Organiser reserves the right at any time to require proof of eligibility in such form as Organiser considers necessary.
7. How Nominators must submit a nomination: To submit a nomination in the Awards, you must complete the Visa Everywhere Pioneer 20 Nomination Form available on the Awards microsite at https://wearethecity.com/pioneer-20/pioneer-20-nomination-form/(“Nomination Form”) during the Nomination Period. The Nomination Form must include: (i) the Nominator’s details (organisation name and contact name and email address); (ii) the Nominee’s details (name, country of residence (if known) and a contact email address); and (iii) a 500-word written submission in English about [the Nominee’s personal refugee story, including how they have overcome adversity in their own life and gone on to help others thrive in their community. Nominators must have obtained the Nominee’s prior written consent to be nominated in the Awards.
8. How Nominees must submit their supporting information:Once a nomination has been submitted, a confirmation email will be sent to the Nominee inviting them to confirm their participation in the Awards and to complete the Nominee Form on the Awards microsite at https://wearethecity.com (“Nominee Form”). The Nominee Form must be submitted by 11:59 pm (UK time) on 17 May 2024. The Nominee Form must include: (i) the Nominee’s details (name, country of residence and a contact email address); (ii) a 1,000-word written submission in English about the Nominee’s personal refugee story, including how they have overcome adversity in their own life and gone on to help others thrive in their community; (iii) a 300-word written submission in English about the Nominee’s business or enterprise, including the industry, background, achievements, impact and future plans; and (iv) a colour photograph of the Nominee in e.g. “jpg, or jpeg” format with a maximum file size of 4MB.
9. Submission Guidelines:All Nominators and Nominees and their respective Nomination Forms and Nominee Forms (“Submissions”) must comply with the following guidelines, failing which the relevant nomination will not be considered by the judges (“Submission Guidelines”):All Submissions must be true, accurate and not misleading.
   • Nomination Forms must not be submitted without the prior written consent of the Nominee. A copy of the consent must be provided to Organiser on request.
   • Submissions must not refer to any identifiable person other than the Nominee without the prior written consent of that other person (or their parent or legal guardian if a minor). A copy of the consent must be provided to Organiser on request.
   • Submissions must not contain any information about any person (including the Nominee) that might cause upset or embarrassment to that person or otherwise put their health, safety or wellbeing at risk.
   • Photographs submitted by the Nominee must not include any person other than the Nominee.
   • Submissions must not include or refer to third-party branding, third-party logos, any third-party intellectual property or any confidential or commercially sensitive information of any person or organisation.
   • Submissions must not be, or contain any material which is or may reasonably be considered to be, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, obscene, indecent, offensive, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, menacing, inflammatory, in breach of confidence or otherwise unlawful.
   • Submissions must not have been submitted in relation to any other Awards, promotions or activities, or published, broadcast or displayed in any media.
   • Each Nominator and Nominee confirms that all elements of the Submission are the Nominator’s and/or Nominee’s own original creation and that the use of any Submission for the purposes described in these Terms does not and will not infringe the intellectual property rights (or any other rights) of any person or organisation.
   • Each Nominator and Nominee confirms that they have the right and authority to participate in the Awards and to make their Submission, and that by doing so they will not be in breach of any agreement with or obligation to a third party.
   • Each Nominator and Nominee confirms that they have not done anything or made any public statement (oral or in writing) that could reasonably be regarded as derogatory or disparaging of Organiser and/or Visa and/or their respective products or services.
     • Each Nominator and Nominee confirms that they know of no information, facts or circumstances related in any way to the Nominator and/or the Nominee that could reasonably be considered damaging or embarrassing to Organiser and/or Visa and/or the Awards by virtue of the association with the Nominator and/or Nominee arising from participation in the Awards.
10. Limits on entry:A limit of ten (10) nominations per Nominator applies to the Awards, but each nomination must relate to a different Nominee. A Nominee may be nominated more than once, as long as they are nominated by different Nominators.
11. Non-compliant Submissions:Nominators and Nominees are solely responsible for ensuring that all Submissions provided by them in connection with these Awards are complete, accurate, compliant with the Submission Guidelines, delivered on time and otherwise comply fully with these Terms. Organiser will not consider, and accepts no responsibility for, any Submissions that are delivered late, incomplete, incorrect, corrupted or otherwise not compliant with these Terms for any reason.
12. Withdrawal of Submissions:Any Nominee may withdraw their nomination at any time before [the date of the public announcement referred to below] by contacting Organiser using the contact details at the end of these Terms. A Nominator may withdraw a nomination up until the Organiser has sent the confirmation email to the relevant Nominee, after which time the nomination cannot be withdrawn.
13. Selection process:All Submissions will be reviewed against the Submission Guidelines. All eligible Nominees will then be considered for selection by a panel of judges that includes representatives of Organiser and Visa and at least one (1) independent judge with relevant experience. The selection process will take place on or around 13 May 2024 and Nominees will be assessed by reference to the information provided on the Nomination Form and the Nominee Form. If a Nominee has been nominated more than once, all relevant Nomination Forms will be considered as one submission and the first completed submission being the basis for the judging panel. Judges will make their final selection of 20 (twenty) Nominees based on the following judging criteria;
    • Meets the criteria stated in the nomination process in terms of age and current residency
    • There are examples of how this individual has overcome adversity, demonstrated courage and resilience
    • The story and achievements contained within the nomination are that of a role model
    • The individual nominated has impacted the lives of others in a positive way
14. Tie-break:In the event of a tie between Nominees, the independent judge(s) will have the deciding vote(s).
15. Notification of selected Nominees:The 20 (twenty) Nominees selected by the judging panel will be personally notified by email on 20 May 2024.
16. Prizes for selected Nominees: The 20 (twenty) selected Nominees will each receive a coaching membership and/or sessions (as determined by Visa) to be provided by a supplier selected by Visa.
17. Notification and claim of prizes: Each selected Nominee will receive a notification from Visa of their prize (a “Prize Notification”) via email. Each selected Nominee must respond to Visa within fourteen (14) days of the date of the Prize Notification. The Prize Notification shall be deemed to be received by each selected Nominee on the date and at the time it has been sent by Visa. Visa will make reasonable efforts to contact the selected Nominees, but it is each selected Nominee’s sole responsibility to monitor their email (including spam folders) for the Prize Notification. If any selected Nominee:
    • is not able, for any reason, to accept or claim their prize;
    • has not validly claimed their prize, or has failed to provide the required verification information, by the end of the fourteen (14) day Prize Notification period;
    • is found to be ineligible to enter the Awards or to claim the prize, then Organiser and/or Visa reserves the right to award the relevant prize to another Nominee (selected in the same way as the original selected Nominee).
    • In the event that Organiser and/or Visa decides (in accordance with these Terms and Conditions) that the prize will be awarded to substitute selected Nominee(s), such substitute selected Nominee(s) will receive a Prize Notification in accordance with this clause 17. The substitute selected Nominee must complete the claim within fourteen (14) days of receiving their Prize Notification.
18. General prize conditions: The prizes are non-transferable, non-refundable, non-exchangeable and no cash alternative is available. However, if Organiser and/or Visa considers it appropriate, or if it becomes necessary for reasons beyond Organiser and/or Visa’s control (e.g. where the prize or any element of the prize becomes unavailable for any reason), the prize (or any element of the prize) may be varied or swapped for a suitable alternative in Organiser and/or Visa’s discretion.
19. Public announcement of selected Nominees:The 20 (twenty) selected Nominees will be publicly announced on 20 May 2024. The public announcement may include the selected Nominees’ names, stories (or extracts from them) and/or accompanying photographs. The announcement may be published on the websites, social media accounts and/or other media of Organiser and Visa (and their affiliates and group companies). The information published, and the media used to make the announcement, will be at the sole discretion of Organiser and Visa (and their affiliates and group companies). Only information provided by the Nominee will be published. No information provided by or about the Nominator will be published, except to the extent provided by the Nominee in their Submission.
20. Nominee grant of rights:In consideration of the opportunity to participate in the Awards, each Nominee grants the following rights and waivers to Organiser and Visa (and their respective affiliates and group companies) (“Licensed Parties”):
    • The Nominee grants to the Licensed Parties a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide licence (but without obligation) to use their Submission (in whole or in part) for the purpose of administering the Awards, for internal business purposes, for general advertising, marketing, publicity and PR purposes related to the Awards and as otherwise explained in these Terms. This licence includes (without limit) the right to edit, modify and adapt the Submission, to incorporate the Submission into or combine it with other materials, and to publish, broadcast or otherwise display the Submission in any media, including on the Licensed Parties’ respective websites, social media and other channels. If a perpetual licence is not permitted by law in any relevant jurisdiction, the licence period shall be limited to five (5) years from the date it is granted.
    • To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Nominee hereby waives all, and agrees not to assert any, moral rights to which they may now or at any future time be entitled anywhere in the world in respect of their Submission, including under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended from time to time) and any similar or equivalent laws, regulations, rules or conventions in any relevant jurisdiction.
    • The Nominee agrees (without further reward) to take part in reasonable publicity connected with the Awards if requested by the Licensed Parties.
    • The Nominee agrees to promptly execute and deliver such documents and perform such acts as may reasonably be required by the Licensed Parties for the purpose of giving full effect to the rights and waivers set out above, including (if requested) to confirm the above rights and waivers in writing.
21. Liability: Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any person’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or any matter for which it would be illegal to limit or exclude liability. Except as stated above, and to the fullest extent permissible by applicable law, the Licensed Parties shall not be liable for any loss or damage any Nominator and/or Nominee may suffer as a result of their participation in the Awards in circumstances where: (i) there has been no breach of a legal duty of care owed by the Licensed Parties; (ii) it was not obvious that the Nominator and/or Nominee would suffer such loss or damage and nothing they said to the Licensed Parties before their participation in these Awards meant that the Licensed Parties should have expected it to happen (so, in the law, the loss was “unforeseeable”); (iii) the Nominator and/or Nominee could have avoided such loss or damage by taking reasonable action; and/or (iv) the loss or damage was caused by an event or circumstance beyond the Licensed Parties’ reasonable control.
22. Business losses:To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Licensed Parties shall not be liable (whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise) for any direct or indirect business loss (including loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of contracts and loss of goodwill) or any indirect or consequential loss suffered or incurred by any NGO, registered charity, foundation or other public or private sector organisation and arising as a result of or in connection with their participation in these Awards.
23. No endorsement:The Awards are in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with any social media platform. Use of and participation via social media platforms is always subject to the rules, terms and policies of the relevant social media platform. By participating in the Awards, each Nominator and Nominee are providing their information to Organiser, not to any third party. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, relevant social media platforms shall have no liability to any person or company in connection with or arising out of the Awards howsoever caused, including for any costs, expenses, damages and other liabilities, and each Nominator and Nominee releases relevant social media platforms from any and all liability in relation to their participation in these Awards.
24. Cancellation and variation:Organiser reserves the right to vary, suspend or cancel the Awards and/or these Terms if it considers it necessary or appropriate to do so, including if there is any actual or anticipated breach of applicable law or if variation, suspension or cancellation is necessary due to an event outside Organiser’s reasonable control. In the event of cancellation, the final 20 (twenty) Nominees may be selected from Submissions received prior to cancellation.
25. Disqualification:Without limiting the options available to Organiser, Organiser reserves the right at any time to disqualify any person that in Organiser’s reasonable opinion is or may be in breach of these Terms, any applicable laws or the spirit of the Awards.
26. Interference with the Awards:Any attempt to damage or undermine the content or legitimate operation of the Awards is prohibited and may also be a violation of criminal and/or civil laws. Organiser reserves all its rights and remedies to deal with breaches or suspected breaches of this rule including, without limitation, to exclude any person believed to be associated with such activity.
27. Personal data:For the purposes of the Awards, the Organiser and Visa are jointly responsible for the protection of your personal information in respect of the administration of the judging process and have entered into an arrangement to determine and allocate their respective responsibilities under the GDPR. Under this arrangement, the Organiser is responsible for providing you with information about the data processing and acts as your point of contact for your queries and GDPR requests. You may send those to [email protected]. Please check the We Are The City Privacy Policy and the data processing agreement provided by the Organiser and contact them directly if you wish to learn more about such arrangements or for assistance with any privacy requests. Please also check Visa supplementary privacy notice to find out more information for individuals in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland on https://www.visa.co.uk/legal/global-privacy-notice/jurisdictional-notice-eea.html.
28. Accessing these Terms:Any website on which these Terms are posted is only intended to be accessed from the 27 EU Member States, Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, Iceland, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine or the United Kingdom and where permitted by law. Organiser makes no representation that materials relating to the Awards are appropriate or available for use at other locations. Access to them from territories where their contents are illegal is strictly prohibited.
29. Severance and waiver:If any part of these Terms is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the rest of these Terms will not be affected. Organiser’s failure to enforce any term of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of that provision.
30. Disputes:Subject to the “Law and Jurisdiction” section below, if there is a dispute about the Awards or these Terms, Organiser’s decisions are final. If there is a conflict between these Terms and any other document referred to in these Terms, these Terms take precedence to the extent necessary to resolve the conflict.
31. Law and jurisdiction:All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms, or the rights and obligations of participants and Organiser in connection with the Awards, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of England and Wales. This does not limit or exclude any rights participants may have under the mandatory laws of their own country. To the extent permitted by applicable law, any disputes arising in connection with the Awards and/or these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, except that residents of other eligible countries and those parts of the United Kingdom outside England and Wales may also bring proceedings in their local courts.
32. Contact:Enquiries about the Awards can be sent to Organiser at: [email protected]