Privacy Notice
How the Institute of Jamaica collects, uses, and protects your personal information in compliance with the Data Protection Act, 2020.
1 Introduction
This Privacy Notice explains how the Institute of Jamaica collects, uses, and discloses your personal information, including the types of information we process and the reasons for which we process them. The personal information we collect from you depends on the nature of the services we provide and how we interact with you.
2 Who We Are
Founded in 1879 by Sir Anthony Musgrave, the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) — governed by the IOJ Act — stands proudly as the Caribbean’s oldest and largest cultural institution. From day one, it has been dedicated to inspiring a love for literature, science, and art. Over the decades, the Institute of Jamaica has been committed to preserving, promoting and encouraging the research, development, education and involvement in the nation’s culture, arts, literature, science, history and museums to strengthen Brand Jamaica.
3 Our Data Protection Commitment
The Institute of Jamaica respects our visitors, customers, employees, and other stakeholders’ right to privacy and commits to take great care to safeguard their personal data in our possession. We adopt and observe appropriate data protection standards in compliance with the Data Protection Act, 2020. The Institute of Jamaica cares about and values data privacy!
- Secure and protect personal data.
- Not disclose personal data outside the IOJ without your consent unless in furtherance of the conditions listed in the Data Protection Act.
- Advise individuals how their personal data is managed, stored, shared and for what specific period.
- Collect and/or request additional or up-to-date personal data to ensure reliability and accuracy as required by Laws and Regulations.
4 The Types of Information We Collect
We collect various types of information that may identify you as an individual. The information collected varies depending on the Division providing the service and the nature of the service.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Government-Issued Identifiers | Full name, photographic identification, and official statutory numbers (including Driver’s License, Passport, TRN, SSN, and NIS). |
| Contact Details | Email address, telephone numbers, residential & mailing address |
| Employment Information | Employment status, employer details, salary & benefits, employment history |
| Demographic Details | Date of birth, gender, age, nationality, marital status |
| Financial Information | Bank account details, company balance sheet and income statement |
| Insurance / Driving History | Driver’s licence details, insurance policy details, lien information, guarantors |
| Payment Information | Bank account information |
| Background Check Information | Human resource purposes |
| Health Information | Medical history, health status and outcomes of medical reports |
| Beneficiary Information | Beneficiary name, relationship |
| Employee Information | Employment history, dependent information, emergency contact |
| Online Details | IP address, operating system, and browser type when visiting our sites |
5 How We Get Your Personal Information
A. Directly from you when you:
- Request information about our products and services.
- Apply for a product or service from us.
- Speak to us on the phone or at one of our locations (including recorded calls and notes we make).
- Provide information in the normal course of delivering a product or service — for example, when you book a tour or rent a space.
- Send us correspondence such as letters and emails, or when you visit our website or follow us on social media.
- Participate in customer surveys.
- Apply for and maintain employment within the Institute of Jamaica.
- Attend an event hosted by us or take part in our competitions or promotions.
B. Indirectly from the following sources:
- Voicemails, messages, emails or any other correspondence received as part of our general communication.
- Closed Circuit Television Systems (CCTV) throughout our locations. Footage may be stored up to 7 business days.
- Third parties such as government bodies, insurers, medical professionals, and recruitment agencies.
6 How We Use Your Personal Information
We will use the information we collect about you in connection with the following:
- To offer, administer and manage products and services, including booking tours, renting facilities, and providing research and library services.
- To carry out “Know Your Customer” due diligence checks, especially for children within our after-school programme.
- To manage customer transactions including in-person purchases from our gift shops and to receive donations made to the Institute of Jamaica.
- To administer, investigate and settle claims or complaints in relation to our services.
- To facilitate the prevention, detection, investigation and reporting of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
- To ensure adherence to internal controls and external regulatory requirements.
- To enforce our contracts and recover any outstanding debt.
- To fulfil legal and regulatory obligations.
- To carry out “Know Your Employee” due diligence checks including processing employment applications.
- To provide employment and post-employment benefits.
- To respond to your requests, inquiries, comments, and concerns.
- To analyse trends, perform benchmarking, market research and data analysis.
- For research, audit, reporting and other business operations purposes.
- To send you relevant marketing information, including newsletters and promotional material.
7 When We Share Your Personal Information
We do not rent or sell your information to anyone and will only share your information where we are legally permitted to do so. We may share your personal information with:
- Within the IOJ: Other entities or departments within the IOJ Museum Group for the processing purposes outlined in this Notice.
- Third Party Suppliers: Suppliers who process personal information on our behalf, governed by confidentiality contracts.
- Law Enforcement Bodies: Where necessary to facilitate the prevention or detection of a crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
- Public Authorities and Regulators: Where necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
- External Auditors: Where necessary for the conduct of company audits.
- Legal Advisers, Loss Adjusters and Claims Investigators: Where necessary to investigate, exercise or defend legal or insurance claims.
8 Our Lawful Basis for Processing Your Information
Performance of a Contract
We process your personal information where necessary to open accounts, maintain account details, and provide contracted services.
Legal Obligation
We are required by law to collect and process certain personal information. Failure to provide it may prevent us from continuing to offer services.
Legitimate Interests
Including preventing fraud, settling claims, ensuring network security, managing business relationships, and improving our products and services.
Consent
Where we rely on your consent, you are not obliged to provide it and may withdraw it at any stage. Withdrawal does not affect prior lawful processing.
9 International Transfer of Your Information
In the event that international partnerships are brokered, your personal data may be transferred to complete any transactions for the intended purpose, done with your explicit consent.
10 Accuracy of Your Information
We rely on accurate personal information to provide our services. You should notify us of any changes to your personal information, such as changes to your contact details, to ensure the proper management and administration of the services we provide to you.
11 Retention of Your Information
We retain appropriate records of your personal information to operate our business and comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. Retention periods are determined based on the type of record, the nature of the activity, and applicable legal or regulatory requirements. In most cases we will retain your personal information for no longer than required under applicable laws. We may keep data for longer if we cannot delete it for legal, regulatory, or technical reasons, or as necessary to resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
12 Information Security
The security of your personal information is important to us. We have implemented appropriate security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the personal information we collect. These include network security, firewalls, access controls, antivirus protections, encryption, software and hardware updates, and written policies and procedures which are regularly audited at senior level. Every effort is made to ensure only authorised personnel have access to your personal data.
13 Your Rights in Relation to Personal Data
Under applicable data privacy laws you have the following rights:
Right to Access
Be informed whether and to what extent we process your data, and request a copy.
Right to Consent
Withdraw consent at any time. Note the 21-day due process period under section 11(4) of the Act.
Right to Prevent Processing
Object to the processing of your personal data in certain situations.
Right to Rectification
Request correction of incomplete or incorrect personal data at any time.
Automated Decision-Making
Object to decisions based exclusively on automated processing of your data.
14 How to Exercise Your Rights
You may exercise any of the rights available to you by contacting us using the information in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Notice. We will examine your request and respond to you as quickly as possible and in accordance with the relevant law.
15 Use of Automated Decision-Making
Where a decision is taken solely by automated means involving the use of your personal information, you have the right to challenge the decision and ask us to reconsider the matter with human intervention. Please contact us if you wish to exercise this right.
16 Marketing
Unless you have told us that you do not want to hear from us, we will send you relevant marketing information by mail, phone, email, text and other forms of electronic communication. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication or by contacting us directly. We may still send non-promotional communications such as administrative emails concerning your account.
17 Use of Cookies and Other Technology
We use cookies and other internet tracking software to collect data while you are using our websites or mobile apps. Cookies allow us to store information about the device you use, recognise when you revisit our websites, and evaluate the effectiveness of our advertising. We use both first-party and third-party cookies to support this activity.
We do not use cookies to track your internet usage after leaving our website or to store personal information others may read and understand. When you first visit our website, you will be given the opportunity to opt in or opt out of cookies. You may also set your browser settings to deactivate cookies, though some website functions may not be available if you do so.
18 How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or require more details about how we use your personal information, please contact us:
10–16 East Street, Kingston, Jamaica W.I.
Roshawna Byndloss
Tel: (658) 220-0470
Email: dpo@instituteofjamaica.org.jm
19 How to Complain
If you have concerns regarding the processing of your personal data, encourage you to contact our Data Protection Officer. To lodge a formal grievance, you may visit any of our physical locations to speak with a representative in person.