Terms and Conditions

§1 – Scope of these General Terms and Conditions

  1. These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “Terms”) apply to all contracts between ada Learning GmbH, Graf-Adolf-Platz 15, 40213 Düsseldorf (hereinafter referred to as “ada”) and the respective participant (hereinafter referred to as “Participant”, ada and Participant also each referred to as the “Party” and jointly the “Parties”) with regard to participation in face-to-face and hybrid events (hereinafter jointly referred to as “Event” or “Events”), insofar as reference is made to these Terms in the respective order form (in the case of online purchases) or at a point of sale (in the case of face-to-face purchases).
  2. Any deviating terms and conditions of the participant(s) (insofar as they are a legal entity or association of persons and orders are placed for one or more natural persons) shall not be recognized unless ada expressly agrees to their validity in writing.

§2 – Registration and entering into a contract

  1. The registration takes place online via the provided booking form, by e-mail, by telephone or – if provided by ada – by ticket purchase at a point of sale .
  2. In the case of a ticket purchase at a point of sale, the contract is concluded by payment of the ticket price and delivery of the physical ticket or dispatch of the electronic ticket.
  3. When booking via an online form, Participant receives an automatic order receipt confirmation within the scope of the statutory provisions. This confirmation of receipt does not constitute acceptance of the order. The contract is only concluded through the booking confirmation by ada.
  4. In case of a booking via telephone or e-mail, ada usually confirms the booking by sending the ticket, otherwise by prior booking confirmation.
  5. Insofar as tickets are personalized, they apply exclusively to Participant and can only be transferred to third parties with the express consent of ada prior to the start of the event. The transfer can only be refused based on a justified interest of ada. The admission of participants other than those personalized with the ticket due to absence of identity verification does not constitute consent to the transfer.
  6. With the registration Participant accepts these terms and conditions.

§ 3 – Services and Prices; Responsibility for the Contents of the Event; Changes in Services

  1. The services and prices for participation in an event result from the respective event description together with the price list (hereinafter only the “Event Description”). The prices stated in the Event Description or elsewhere in connection with the event are net prices plus the applicable statutory value added tax, unless they are expressly stated as gross prices.
  2. The prices include, if stated in the Event Description, the participation in the event, event documents and catering during the event.
  3. Travel and accommodation costs are not included.
  4. ada does not assume any liability for the correctness, completeness and topicality of the contents of the events. In particular, ada is not responsible for the contents conveyed by the invited speakers. Participant is responsible for the implementation of the contents conveyed in the events in their professional practice.
  5. ada reserves the right to make changes or deviations in the course of the event (e.g. replacement of speakers, deletion or addition of parts of the event) or deviations in content, methods or techniques (e.g. because the state of science and technology has changed since the planning of the event or has produced new findings) for objective reasons (e.g. hindrance of speakers due to strike, force majeure, acts of god or illness; current and important political events) and to a reasonable extent, provided that these do not significantly change the overall structure of the event.

§4 – Terms of payment and invoice

  1. The participation fee is due immediately upon receipt of the invoice without deduction. The payment options are limited to the ways indicated in the online booking form at the discretion of ada. In the case of payments via third-party providers, the general terms and conditions of the respective providers apply, which independently carry out a risk and/or credit check depending on the selected payment method.
  2. For bookings by e-mail or telephone, Participant can pay exclusively by SEPA transfer to the account specified by ada.
  3. If tickets are purchased at a point of sale/box office, limited card payment options may be available.
  4. Participant agrees to electronic invoicing and will receive an invoice usually by e-mail, in exceptional cases by postal mail.
  5. In the event of default in payment, ada is entitled to demand interest at the statutory rate.
  6. ada reserves the right to exclude Participant from the event if payment is not made on time.

§5 – Cancellation and rebooking

  1. Participant may cancel the registration free of charge up to a certain deadline, which is specified in the Event Description and is based on the ticket category.
  2. After that, cancellation is only possible upon payment of a cancellation fee, which usually corresponds to a percentage of the participation fee and also results from the Event Description.
  3. In case of non-appearance of Participant(“no show”) or cancellation up to four weeks before the day of the event, the entire participation fee is due. Participant is free to prove that ada has incurred no or less damage. A rebooking to another event or a substitute participant is only possible with the express consent of ada.
  4. The statutory right of cancellation shall remain unaffected by the above provisions and, within the scope of application, shall in any case take precedence over the cancellation conditions.

§6 – Changes and cancellation of events; house rules

  1. ada reserves the right to cancel or postpone events for good cause, for example in case of insufficient number of participants, illness of the speaker, acts of god or force majeure. In this case, Participant will be informed immediately and offered the possibility to participate in a replacement event or to have the participation fee refunded. Further claims, in particular claims for damages, do not exist unless ada has acted intentionally or with gross negligence.
  2. Participant is obliged to comply with the house rules stipulated by ada. In particular, Participant is obligated to ensure compliance with protective and hygienic measures for the prevention and containment of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, to the extent required by ada, even beyond applicable legal requirements. In particular, ada may require the wearing of a mouth-nose protection of certain classification (e.g. FFP2) or the presentation of a current negative rapid or PCR test or a vaccination certificate (in analog or digital form). Any stricter legal or official requirements remain unaffected. As far as ada is obliged to collect personal data due to legal or official requirements, Participant must provide truthful information in this regard. Information on data processing can be found in the data protection notice of the event.
  3. Participant undertakes to observe the house rules of the venue and of ada and to behave appropriately and respectfully towards other participants, speakers and event staff during the event.
  4. ada has the right to exclude participants who persistently or grossly violate the house rules from the event or parts of the event.

§7 – Liability

  1. In accordance with the statutory provisions, ada shall be liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence. The same applies to injury to life, body or health or insofar as warranties (Garantien) or guaranteed characteristics (zugesicherte Eigenschaften) are affected.
  2. In case of slightly negligent breach of cardinal obligations (essential contractual obligations, the fulfillment of which enable the proper execution of the contract in the first place and on the compliance with which Participant may regularly rely) (Kardinalpflichten) ada shall only be liable for the foreseeable damage typical for the contract.
  3. Any liability beyond the aforementioned is excluded.
  4. The above limitations of liability shall also apply in favor of ada’s legal representatives and vicarious agents if claims are asserted directly against them.
  5. Any statutory liability of ada, which exists irrespective of fault, remains unaffected by the above provisions.
  6. Furthermore, ada is not liable for loss, theft or damage of objects brought by participant(e.g. clothing, electronic devices), unless the damage was caused by intentional or grossly negligent actions of ada, its legal representatives or vicarious agents.

§8 – Photographs and video recordings; copyrights; rights of use of event results

  1. ada or third parties engaged by ada will take photographs and video recordings before and during the event, which will be exploited for the purpose of documentation, advertising on- and offline (commercial advertising and image advertising), in particular edited, reproduced, distributed, exhibited, translated, made publicly available or broadcasted. Participant agrees in accordance with Section 22 German Art Copyright Act (Kunsturhebergesetz) to the dissemination and public display of the likenesses and own word (in the case of sound recordings).
  2. All event documents are protected by copyright. Reproduction, distribution or other use of the event documents is only permitted with the prior express written consent of ada.
  3. Participant is not authorized to make video, image and sound recordings of the event and to exploit these (e.g. by making them publicly available). Excluded from this are, within the framework of a “fair use policy”, photographs and short video sequences for publication on social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, Instagram) that obviously serve the purpose of documenting the participation of Participant.
  4. Insofar as works protected by copyright or ancillary copyright arise in the course of the event and Participant acquires a copyright or ancillary copyright therein, e.g. through speech, presentation or other participation or performance, Participant grants ada a non-exclusive, temporally and territorially unrestricted and royalty-free right to exploit the work in the course of the event, in the course of the presentation of results after the event and for other business areas (e.g. ada Fellowship Program), in particular to edit, reproduce, distribute, exhibit, translate, include in a database or database work, make publicly available or broadcast. Any further statutory rights to remuneration, from which no deviation to the detriment of the author or beneficiary of ancillary copyright can be made, shall remain unaffected.

§9 – Data protection

The personal data provided by Participant is processed in accordance with the applicable data protection laws (e.g. GDPR, German Data Protection Act). Reference is made to the data protection notice at https://join-ada.com/en/privacy.

§10 – Technical requirements and use of online platforms

  1. For participation in hybrid events, Participant is responsible for providing suitable technical equipment (e.g. computer/smartphone, stationary or mobile internet access, camera, microphone, and speakers, if applicable) in case of authorization for online participation.
  2. Participant has no right to a certain data transmission quality. ada is entitled to reduce the transmission quality in order to be able to react to technical capacity bottlenecks.
  3. ada assumes no liability for technical malfunctions or problems that occur due to the hardware or software used by Participant.
  4. Participant is obliged to observe the rights of use of the respective online platform used by ada to enable online participation and to comply with the rules of conduct applicable there.
  5. ada reserves the right to exclude participants in whole or in part from participation in the event of violations of the terms of use of the online platform or in the event of technical malfunctions that impair the course of the event.

§11 – Special regulations for online participation

  1. Participant receives access data and instructions for using the online platform by e-mail before the start of the online event. The access data is personal and may not be passed on to third parties. Participant is obliged to protect the access data from unauthorized access.
  2. Recording of the event (screen capturing, filming by external video and/or sound recording devices) is not permitted. ada is entitled to implement technical protective measures that prevent recording or to use digital, participant-specific watermarks. The exploitation (in particular making publicly available) of the event recorded in whole or in part is not permitted.
  3. ada points out that data transmission on the internet (e.g. communication by e-mail or active participation through the online tool used) may have security gaps. A complete protection of the data against access by third parties is not possible.

§12 – Certificates and attendance requirements

  1. In general, the events are voluntary. Participant is free to leave the event or parts of it early. In this case, there is no entitlement to a full or partial refund of the ticket price.
  2. Insofar as a certificate of attendance or a certificate is issued for the event or individual parts thereof, Participant is obliged to attend the entire event or the relevant part of the event. In case of absence or early departure, ada may refuse to issue the certificate of attendance or the certificate. ada may decide at its own discretion whether a temporary/partial absence was substantial and ada may refuse to issue a certificate of attendance or a certificate.
  3. In the event of non-issuance of a certificate of attendance or a certificate for the aforementioned reasons, there is no entitlement to a full or partial refund of the ticket price.

§13 – Final Provisions; Applicable Law and Place of Jurisdiction

  1. Should individually provisions of these Terms be or become invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid or unenforceable provision.
  2. ada reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time. The amended Terms shall apply to all contracts concluded after the amendments have come into force, insofar as the new version has been referred to accordingly.
  3. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the contract shall be Düsseldorf, to the extent permitted by law.
  4. This is a convenience translation of the German general terms and conditions. The German version shall prevail.

Right of withdrawal for consumers

Participants whose registration cannot be attributed to their commercial or self-employed professional activity (§ 13 BGB) have the right to cancel their registration in writing within 14 days after receipt of the registration confirmation with giving reasons. Cancellation fees will not be charged. To meet the deadline it is sufficient to send the cancellation in a timely manner to the following address:

ada Learning GmbH
Graf-Adolf-Platz 15,
40213 Düsseldorf
events@join-ada.com

This right of revocation expires prematurely if the booked event has taken place and the participant has taken part in it.

Consequences of revocation

If you revoke this contract, we shall reimburse you for all payments we have received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of additional costs resulting from you choosing a delivery type other than the most favorable standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and no later than within 14 days of our receipt of your revocation of this contract. For this reimbursement we will use the same means of payment you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no case will you be charged for this reimbursement.

If you have requested that the service should be provided during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already provided up to the point in time when you notify us of the exercise of your right of withdrawal with regard to this contract, compared to the total scope of the services provided for in this contract.

Sample cancellation form

If you want to cancel this contract, you may fill out this form and return it to:

ada Learning GmbH, Graf-Adolf-Platz 15, 40213 Düsseldorf, Email: events@join-ada.com

  • I/We(*) hereby revoke the contract I/we(*) concluded for the purchase of the following goods(*) / the provision of the following services(*)
  • Ordered on(*) / received on(*) Name of the consumer(s)
  • Address of the consumer(s)
  • Signature of the consumer(s) (only required on paper documents)
  • Date

_______________

(*) Please cross out inapplicable words and phrases

Online dispute resolution and consumer arbitration board

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution, which Participant can access at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. ada is neither obligated nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.

Event description and price list for the Ada Lovelace Festival 2023

The Ada Lovelace Festival with the motto “Beyond the Visible” will take place on September 14-15 as a hybrid event in Berlin and virtually. For all on-site participants, the event ticket includes drinks and vegetarian catering on the first day of the event. The evening events are excluded from this. For more information on the program, please visit https://www.ada-lovelace-festival.com

Ticket categories and prices On Site (presence):

Category 1: “Early Bird” – booking received by June 15, 2023

499,- EUR.

Category 2: “Regular” – booking until August 31, 2023

699,- EUR.

Category 3: “Last minute” – booking as of September 1, 2023

999,- EUR.

Category E: “Reduced”

We want to become more diverse and welcome more people into our community. That’s why we want to expand the group of people who can use a reduced ticket to include schoolchildren, trainees, welfare recipients (e.g. ALG II), pensioners and people with disabilities; they must upload proof and will be checked for eligibility accordingly during accreditation.

149,- EUR.

Ticket categories and prices Virtual (virtually):

Category 1: “Early Bird” – booking received by June 15, 2023

299,- EUR.

Category 2: “Regular” – booking until August 31, 2023

399,- EUR.

Category 3: “Last minute” – booking from September 1, 2023

499,- EUR.

Category E: “Reduced”

We want to become more diverse and welcome more people into our community. That’s why we want to expand the group of people who can use a reduced ticket to include schoolchildren, trainees, welfare recipients (e.g. ALG II), pensioners and people with disabilities; they must upload proof and will be checked for eligibility accordingly during accreditation.

149,- EUR.

Ticket category On Demand:

49,- EUR.

Cancellation policy:

Early Bird tickets, Regular tickets, Reduced tickets and On Demand tickets can be cancelled until July 20, 2023. After that, a cancellation fee of 50% will be charged (see § 5 Clause 2 of the Terms). Cancellation of Last Minute Tickets or Regular Tickets purchased after the aforementioned date is excluded. The statutory provisions on the right of cancellation shall in any case take precedence over these cancellation conditions within the scope of their application.