Privacy Policy

Version 1.0 — Effective 17 June 2026

This Privacy Policy applies to all individuals who interact with Botle Ba Matsoho Guild of Stagehands (Pty) Ltd, including visitors to our website, professionals who apply to join the Guild database, productions and venues that use our placement services, and anyone who subscribes to our newsletter or contacts us directly.

1. Who we are

Botle Ba Matsoho Guild of Stagehands (Pty) Ltd (referred to as "BBMGOS", "the Guild", "we", "us", or "our") is a South African creative workforce organisation registered under company number 2024/775688/07.

Our designated Information Officer under POPIA is Bokang Ntsutle, founder and director of BBMGOS. The Information Officer is responsible for ensuring BBMGOS complies with POPIA and can be contacted at info@botlebamatsohoguild.co.za.

BBMGOS is an early-stage organisation. Our data practices are proportionate to our current scale and will be updated as the organisation grows.

2. What information we collect

Information you give us directly when you:

• Apply to join the Guild database
• Submit a crew brief as a production or venue
• Contact us by email, through the website contact form, or via social media
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Participate in a skills verification conversation with BBMGOS

This may include:

• Full name, professional photo, email address, and city
• Skills, specialisations, and professional background
• Production credits and references
• Qualifications or portfolio materials submitted for verification
• Availability status and messages to us

If BBMGOS receives information about you from a third party, such as a nomination for a Creator Spotlight, we will contact you directly to inform you and obtain your consent before storing or publishing any information about you.

Our website uses Google Fonts loaded from Google's servers, which logs visitor IP addresses as part of standard font delivery. If you are concerned about this, you can disable third-party font loading in your browser settings.

3. Why we collect your information

To create and maintain your verified profile in the Guild database, facilitate bookings, record production credits, respond to enquiries, send the newsletter to subscribers, and produce anonymised impact data for funding reports. We never use identifiable personal data in external reports without your explicit written consent.

We collect only what we need for these specific purposes.

4. Legal basis for processing

BBMGOS processes your personal information in accordance with section 11 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) on the following grounds:

• Your consent, where you have actively submitted your information to us
• To carry out actions for the conclusion or performance of a contract to which you are party
• To pursue our legitimate interests, where those interests are not outweighed by your rights
• To comply with a legal obligation

5. How we share your information

If you are a database member and a production submits a matching crew brief, we may share your professional profile with that production to facilitate a booking. This means your name, skills, credits, and a contact route managed through BBMGOS. We do not share your personal phone number or email address directly with a production without your knowledge.

We use Google Workspace and Substack to operate our services. Both are US-based platforms. By using our services, you consent to your data being processed on servers outside South Africa, subject to those platforms' own privacy and security commitments. We have selected these platforms based on their established security practices.

Creator Spotlight content is only published with your explicit written consent. You may withdraw that consent at any time and we will remove the content within a reasonable timeframe.

BBMGOS does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. This is absolute.

6. How long we keep your information

• Database profiles: kept while you are an active member. Deleted or anonymised within 30 days of a removal request, except where legal retention applies.
• Booking records: retained for five years from the date of the booking for accounting purposes.
• Newsletter subscribers: retained until you unsubscribe. You may do so at any time via the link in any newsletter email.
• General correspondence: retained for three years from the date of last contact.

7. Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to know what personal information we hold, access a copy of it, correct inaccurate information, request deletion, object to processing, and withdraw consent at any time. To exercise any of these rights, contact info@botlebamatsohoguild.co.za. We will respond within 30 days and may ask you to verify your identity.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at www.inforegulator.org.za or inforeg@justice.gov.za.

8. Data security

BBMGOS uses password-protected systems with access restricted to authorised individuals. Database records are maintained in Google Workspace with access controls in place. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure. If you believe your information has been compromised, contact us immediately at info@botlebamatsohoguild.co.za.

9. Children and minors

You must be 18 or older to join the Guild database as a verified professional. Individuals under 18 may attend BBMGOS events but will not have a profile on the platform. If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from someone under 18 through the platform, contact us at info@botlebamatsohoguild.co.za and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when our practices change. Material changes will be communicated to active database members and newsletter subscribers by email before they take effect. The effective date at the top of this page will always reflect the current version.

11. Contact

Version 1.0 — Effective 17 June 2026 — Botle Ba Matsoho Guild of Stagehands (Pty) Ltd