These Terms of Use are effective as of May 1, 2023.
Welcome to GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AFRICA (hereinafter referred to as “GDA”).
These terms of service outline the rules and regulations for the use of and engagement with all Graphic Designers Africa Platforms.
Platforms refers to our website, Facebook group, Facebook page, Twitter Handle, Online store, Instagram account, WhatsApp, offline events, and every other means through which we interface with you and with the public.
By accessing our platforms, it is deemed that you have accepted these terms of services and our Privacy Policy. Do not continue to use any of our platforms if you do not accept all of the terms of service and Privacy Policy stated in this document.
The following terminology applies to these Terms of Service: “You” and “Your” refers to you the person accessing our platforms. “Ourselves”, “We”, “Our” and “Us”, refers to GDA. “Party”, “Parties”, or “Us”, refers to both you and GDA, or either you or GDA. Any use of the above terminology or other words in the singular, plural, capitalization and/or he/she or they, are taken as interchangeable and therefore as referring to same.
1. Overview
GDA is a community of and for graphic designers across Africa and a trademarked brand of QUICKPRINTS MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED a private limited liability company incorporated in Nigeria under the company and allied matters act CAMA 2020 with its company seal and which expression shall where the context admits include its successors in-title and assigns.
Founded on February 17, 2016, GDA is a digital ecosystem where we foster design education, talent recognition, mentorship, internship, employment, collaboration, entrepreneurship, networking, and leadership opportunities for young African creatives.
2. COMMUNITY RULES AND GUIDELINES
We’ve outlined a list of sacrosanct rules as it applies to our Facebook and Whatsapp communities in sections and subsections for our benefit as follows:
i. Participation Is Open To Africans Only.
If you’re residing in Africa or you’re an African residing in any part of the world, you’re welcome to participate in this public group. This means you can engage with others in line with the rules of this community. By participating in this community, you have automatically accepted to adhere to its group rules. And we suggest you check the RULES at the announcement section to stay updated. Also study the rich info in our GUIDES section. All other members are welcome to observe and connect.
ii. Be Kind And Courteous To Others.
GDA is a safe place for new and aspiring Creatives as well as professionals in the industry. Giving helpful information, informed guidance, and constructive criticism are welcome. But we have no tolerance for posts or comments that belittle, shame or discriminate against the works and growth efforts of others. Neither do we tolerate bullying and harassment through the use of foul language, so please be kind. A disregard for this rule attracts up to 28 days of being suspended or banned.
iii. Look Authentic, Stay Authentic, & Transact Wisely.
How you present yourself via your profile matters. Please spell your name clearly, update your profile photo with an image, and keep it that way if you wish to participate in this community and gain the trust of others. Participating members without a clear identity will be stripped of their participant status. Also take all necessary precautions as you transact here with other members. GDA and its Administrators are not to be involved in any issues arising from sour deals. Be Guided.
iv. Keep Posts And Comments In Line & Productive.
GDA is both a professional group and a Learning Centre so share only related posts that add value to other members and enforce our purpose. No inciting posts or comments on politics, sports, religion, or solicitation (aka begging) will be tolerated. Defaulters may attract being muted for up to 28 days or banned. No SPAMMING. Spamming means posting Adverts or Nonsense Links under other people’s posts or in chats. We take SPAMMING very critical and ban defaulters.
v. Do You Want Your Design Approved? Then Improve It.
Take the GDA Level One Induction Training (GDAIT 1) to brush up your design skills. The GDAIT Level 1 & 2 are free intensive design trainings organized and sponsored by the Management of this community for new and aspiring Graphic Designers who are members of GDA. Check GUIDE 11 in the Guides section of this group for more details.
vi. Get Premium Updates Via Email As A Verified Member.
If you would like to get email updates on special announcements, job opportunities, competitions, grants, professional tips, and lots more, then get your KYC verification status active. Visit https://store.upgdafrica.org/kyc to register and access these benefits all round the year! As a verified member, you will automatically join our affiliate program and be able to make a commission on every sale you make at our store starting 2023. Visit our website to learn more – https://upgdafrica.org.
Vii. Read The Facebook Community Standards Again.
In line with Facebook Community Standards, please ensure your post always adhere to the following: a. Authenticity – Only post your original work, otherwise acknowledge the original source. b. Safety – Do not make a post/comment requesting the personal information (bank details, phone number, etc) of members within the group. c. False News & Manipulated Media involving persons of global public interest is not allowed here. Defaulters will lose all subscribed benefits or be suspended for up to 28 days.
viii. These Posts Are For Administrative Purposes Only!
Here’s a list of post features that are strictly for administrative purposes (meaning you are not allowed to use them without Admin approval): a. Live Videos b. Polls c. Creating Events d. Host Q&A e. Rooms f. Music sharing. Posts with these features will not be approved for members, same applies to members with pre-approved status (PAS) and to GDA Leaders who aren’t assigned to use such features. Defaulting posts will be declined and members with PAS will either lose their status or be banned.
ix. About Adverts, Free/Paid Trainings, Events, etc.
All direct advertising and announcement of free or paid trainings, events, and competitions now require Admin approval. This way we ensure that only verified, quality and safe opportunities are exposed to our members. Please contact the Admin Desk via email: upgdafrica@gmail.com with concrete evidence of the advert or announcement and receive email confirmation before you can proceed to make payment (where applicable) to publicize any such activity. Defaulters will lose all subscribed benefits.
x. Visit Our Website For More On Rules & Benefits.
More details about our community rules are available on our website at https://upgdafrica.org/rules. Please check through monthly to stay updated. You’ll also find more details about our community including our partnerships, offers, resources, yearly calendar of scheduled activities and so on. On behalf of the community and its leadership, I wish you a lovely lifetime experience in this our prestigious community powered by Meta. Pakis Briggs – GDA Admin.
3. LICENSE
All intellectual property rights are reserved. You may view, download, and/or print pages from our platforms for your own personal use subject to restrictions set in these terms of service.
You must not:
Republish material from our platforms
Sell, rent or sub-license material from our platforms
Reproduce, duplicate or copy material from our platforms
Redistribute content from our platforms (unless content is specifically made for redistribution).
A user may not use another user’s content where there is no express permission or consent to constitute a non-infringement to the Copy Rights of such user.
4. REGISTRATION AND ACCOUNT
You may not register with our platforms if you are under 18 years of age or below whatever legal age applies to your country. By using our platforms or agreeing to these general terms and conditions you warrant and represent to us that you are of legal adult age.
If you register for an account with our marketplace, you will be asked to provide an email address/user ID and password and you agree to:
Keep your password confidential; You will be responsible for any activity on our platform arising out of any failure to keep your password confidential and that you may be held liable for any losses arising out of such a failure.
Your account shall be used exclusively by you and you shall not transfer your account to any third party. If you authorize any third party to manage your account on your behalf this shall be at your own risk.
We may suspend, cancel or ban your account at any time in our sole discretion and without notice or explanation whereby you have breached these general terms and conditions. In the event of such, products that are already paid for will not withstanding be delivered, however any ongoing subscriptions to our services that you paid for will be forfeited in the event of such breach without being entitled to refund. In the event of suspension for any specified period, any ongoing subscription you paid for will not be paused, but will continue to run until its expiry.
5. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SALE
You acknowledge and agree that:
Our platforms provide an online location for exchange of goods, services and contents;
Subject to these general terms and conditions the seller’s terms of business shall govern the contract for sale and purchase between the buyer and the seller. Notwithstanding this the following provisions will be incorporated into the contract of sale and purchase between the buyer and the seller:
the price for a product will be as stated in the relevant product listing;
the price for the product must include all taxes and comply with applicable laws in force from time to time;
delivery charges, packaging charges, handling charges, administrative charges, insurance costs, other ancillary costs and charges (where applicable), will only be payable by the buyer if this is expressly and clearly stated in the product listing; and delivery of digital products shall be made electronically;
products must be of satisfactory quality fit and safe for any purpose specified in and conform in all material respects to the product listing and any other description of the products supplied or made available by the seller to the buyer; and
in respect of physical products sold the seller warrants that the seller has good title to and is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the products and/or has the right to supply the products pursuant to this agreement and that the products are not subject to any third party rights or restrictions including in respect of third party intellectual property rights and/or any criminal insolvency or tax investigation or proceedings; and in respect of digital products the seller warrants that the seller has the right to supply the digital products to the buyer.
6. COOKIES
We employ the use of cookies. By using GDA platforms you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy.
We use cookies to enable us to retrieve user details for each visit. Cookies are used in some areas of our site to enable the functionality of this area and ease of use for those people visiting. Some of our affiliate / advertising partners may also use cookies.
7. USER POSTS AND COMMENTS
Certain parts of our platforms offer the opportunity for users to post and exchange opinions, information, material and data. GDA does not screen, edit, or review posts and comments prior to their appearance on the platforms and these posts and comments do not reflect the views or opinions of GDA, its agents or affiliates. Post and comments reflect the view and opinion of the person who posts such view or opinion. To the extent permitted by applicable laws GDA shall not be responsible or liable for the posts or comments or for any loss cost, liability, damages or expenses caused and or suffered as a result of any use of and/or posting of and/or appearance of posts and comments on our platforms.
GDA reserves the right to monitor all posts and comments and to remove any posts and comments which it considers in its absolute discretion to be inappropriate, offensive or otherwise in breach of these Terms of Service.
You warrant and represent that:
You are entitled to post and comment on our platforms and have all necessary licenses and consents to do so;
Your posts and comments do not infringe any intellectual property right, including without limitation copyright, patent or trademark, or other proprietary right of any third party;
Your posts and comments do not contain any defamatory, libelous, offensive, indecent or otherwise unlawful material or material which is an invasion of privacy
Your posts and comments will not be used to solicit or promote business or custom or present commercial activities or unlawful activity.
8. HYPERLINKING TO OUR CONTENT AND REMOVAL OF LINKS
The following organizations may link to our platforms without prior written approval:
- Government agencies; ii. Search engines; iii. News organizations; iv. Facebook v. Selar
Online directory distributors when they list us in the directory may link to our platforms in the same manner as they hyperlink to the websites of other listed businesses.
These organizations may link our platforms to publications or to other website information so long as the link: (a) is not in any way misleading; (b) does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement or approval of the linking party or by the linked party; and (c) fits within the context of the linking party’s website.
If you find any link on our platforms or any linked website objectionable for any reason, you may contact us about this. We will consider requests to remove links, but will have no obligation to do so or to respond directly to you.
Whilst we endeavor to ensure that the information on platforms is correct, we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy; nor do we commit to ensuring that our platforms remain available or that the material on the platforms are kept up to date.
9. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
We reserve the right at any time and in our sole discretion to request that you remove all links or any particular link to our platforms. You agree to immediately remove all links to our website upon such request. We also reserve the right to amend these terms of service and its linking policy at any time. By continuing to link to our platforms, you agree to be bound to and abide by these linking terms of service.
10. Billing
The GDA virtual store is hosted by Selar.co, an ecommerce platform, as its use is subject to the Terms and Conditions of service as stated by its virtual store host. GDA offers free and paid goods and services and pricing may vary by location and is subject to change by GDA without any notice to you.
a. Subscriptions and Renewals. If you are subscribing to any of our annual subscription services, your subscription will automatically renew on an annual basis. You can cancel your subscription at any time. If you cancel your subscription, you will not receive a refund or credit for any amounts that have already been billed.
b. Physical Products. When you order tangible products, you will be responsible for collecting your product at our designated partnering stores in your local city or closest to you. The timeframe between purchase and delivery may vary due to the availability of the product at the store and you will be informed if there’ll be a delay.
c. Taxes. Your subscription fees are inclusive of all taxes unless otherwise specified in an agreement with GDA, within the Service or on an applicable invoice. Tax rates are calculated based on the billing information you provide and the applicable tax rate at the time of your subscription charge.
d. Cancellation. You can stop using the Service and/or cancel your subscription at any time via your account settings. If you cancel your subscription, you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees already paid and any outstanding fees will become immediately due and payable.
f. Changes to Pricing. GDA reserves the right to change its prices at any time. If you are on a subscription plan, changes to pricing will not apply until your next renewal or thirty (30) days after notice, whichever is later.
11. DISCLAIMER
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we exclude all representations, warranties and conditions relating to our platforms and the use of these platforms (including, without limitation, any warranties implied by law in respect of satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and/or the use of reasonable care and skill). Nothing in this disclaimer will:
Limit or exclude our or your liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence;
Limit or exclude our or your liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
Limit any of our or your liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or
Exclude any of our or your liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.
The limitations and exclusions of liability set out in this Section and elsewhere in this disclaimer: (a) are subject to the preceding paragraph; and (b) govern all liabilities arising under the disclaimer or in relation to the subject matter of this disclaimer, including liabilities arising in contract, in tort (including negligence) and for breach of statutory duty.
To the extent that the platforms and the information and services on our platforms are provided free of charge, we will not be liable for any loss or damage of any nature.
12. KYC AND DATA PRIVACY
Users agree to process of their personal data in accordance with the terms of GDA Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice.
GDA shall process all personal data obtained through our platforms and related services in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice.
Sellers shall be directly responsible to buyers for any misuse of their personal data and GDA shall bear no liability to buyers in respect of any misuse by sellers of their personal data.
We may need you to verify your identity to access our services. We would request your banking details, a Valid ID and/or proof of address. You consent to us sharing these details with secure verifying agencies and databases. You also permit us to submit these details to regulatory government agencies where required.
13. FINANCIAL AND LEGAL LIABILITY
GDA Platforms are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not represent, warrant or guarantee that access to GDA Platform will be uninterrupted or error free. As the usage of GDA Platforms for requesting and ordering products services depends on the behavior of the user, we do not guarantee that your usage of the GDA Platform will result in any service requests from clients.
To the maximum extent permitted under the applicable law, neither we nor GDA’s representatives, directors, and employees are liable for any loss or damage that you may incur as a result of using our platforms, including but not limited to: any direct or indirect property damage or monetary loss; loss of profit or anticipated savings; loss of business, contracts, contacts, goodwill, reputation and any loss that may arise from interruption of the business; loss or inaccuracy of data; and any other type of loss or damage.
The financial liability of GDA in connection with violating the General Terms or Agreement will be limited to $10 (ten dollars). You shall have the right to claim for damages only if we have deliberately violated the General Terms or Agreement.
We shall not be liable for the actions or non-actions of the User(s) and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may incur to you as a result of actions or non-actions of the User(s).
You shall be fully liable for breach of the General Terms, Agreement or any other applicable laws or regulations and must stop and remedy such breach immediately after receipt of a respective demand from us or any state authority. You shall indemnify us for any direct and/or indirect loss and/or damage, loss of profits, expense, and penalty, fine that we may incur in connection with your breach of the General Terms, Agreement and laws and regulations. If a User presents any claims against us in connection with your provision of services, then you shall compensate such damage to us in full within 7 (seven) days as of your receipt of the respective request from us. In case we are entitled to present any claims against you, then you shall compensate us any legal costs related to evaluation of the damages and submission of claims relating to compensation for such damage.