Updated as of 19/08/2026
This Event Privacy Policy applies to the World Energy Congress 2027 (the “Congress”), taking place in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 26 to 29 April 2027, together with the associated Executive Assembly. This policy supplements the World Energy Council general Privacy Policy at worldenergy.org/privacy-policy and, in the event of any conflict, prevails in respect of personal data processed for the Congress.
1. Introduction
1.1 The Data Controller referred to in this Policy is the World Energy Council (the “Council”), the owner of the World Energy Congress. The Council is a registered UK charity (charity number 1086559) and a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales with company number 04184478, whose registered office is at Hamilton House, Suite 101-102, 1 Temple Avenue, London EC4Y 0HA, United Kingdom.
1.2 The Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the "Ministry") acts as Data Processor on behalf of the Council in respect of registration services for the Congress, under the Council Data Processing Agreement (DPA). Personal data collected directly through the Congress’ website (for example, for subscriptions) is processed by the Council and does not fall within the Ministry's processing role. The Ministry, or a Saudi competent authority, may act as an independent controller under applicable Saudi law where personal data is processed for government, visa, immigration, security or accreditation purposes.
1.3 The Council and the Ministry are committed to safeguarding the privacy of Congress participants, including delegates, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, partners, media, official government delegations, Council members and Secretariat representatives, volunteers, event staff, contractors, vendor personnel and security personnel.
1.4 This Policy applies where the Council (and, in respect of independent-controller processing, the Ministry or a Saudi competent authority) is acting as data controller with respect to your personal data in connection with the Congress; in other words, where they determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data. This Policy applies to the Congress website, the online registration platform, the delegate mobile application and related event technology services.
1.5 By using the Congress website, registering for the Congress and agreeing to this Policy, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this Policy and the Council general Privacy Policy.
1.6 In this Policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the World Energy Council and, where relevant, the Ministry acting as processor or as independent controller for the purposes described above. For more information about the Council and how to contact us, see Section 16.
2 How we use your personal data
2.1 In this Section 2 we have set out:
(a) the general categories of personal data that we may process;
(b) any personal data that we did not obtain directly from you, the source and specific categories of that data;
(c) the purposes for which we may process personal data; and
(d) the legal bases of the processing.
2.2 We may process data about your use of the Congress website, registration platform and mobile application (“usage data”). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views, navigation paths, device identifiers, and information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system, including Google Analytics. The legal basis for this processing is consent.
2.3 We may process information contained in any enquiry you submit to us regarding the Congress, sponsorship or exhibition opportunities, or related goods and services (“enquiry data”). The legal basis for this processing is consent.
2.4 We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us (“correspondence data”). The correspondence data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of the Congress and communications with participants.
2.5 We may process the following categories of personal data collected when you register for or participate in the Congress (“event data”):
(a) identification and biographical data — full name, preferred name, job title, organisation, nationality, gender (where voluntarily provided);
(b) contact information — email address, mobile/telephone number, business address, country of residence;
(c) government or security data — passport number, national ID number, copy of passport ID page or government-issued ID, visa status, arrival information, citizenship, date of birth if legally required, passport-size picture;
(d) event registration and attendance data — registration category, badge ID, QR code, invoice/payment confirmation, onsite attendance logs, session check-ins, booth scanning data, lead-retrieval activity, networking matches, mobile app usage;
(e) special-category / sensitive data — accessibility requirements, disability assistance requests, dietary restrictions where religious or health-based, medical information required for onsite safety;
(f) digital and online data — IP address, device identifiers, website activity, cookie/analytics identifiers, mobile app logs, photo and audio-visual recordings where event-wide photography applies;
(g) payment data — billing details, transaction reference, payment status and invoice data (full card data is not held by us and remains with the payment gateway); and
(h) engagement data — polling, Q&A, chat-box and networking interactions during sessions or via the delegate mobile application.
2.6 Personal data pertaining to High-Profile Individuals (HPI) is treated with a higher level of confidentiality in accordance with the Ministry’s approved Data Classification Policy, and is subject to enhanced safeguards. Government and security data (such as passport, visa, accreditation and security-screening information) is processed under the responsibility of the Ministry or the relevant Saudi competent authority acting as independent controller.
2.7 The purposes for which we process event data and the indicative legal bases are:
| Purpose | Indicative legal basis |
|---|---|
| Event registration and participation, badge issuance and onsite check-in. | Contractual necessity and legitimate event-administration purposes, subject to applicable privacy notices. |
| Event communications and logistics, including agenda, safety information and post-event follow-up. | Contractual necessity and legitimate event-administration purposes. |
| Visa, immigration, accreditation and security processes handled by the Ministry and Saudi competent authorities. | Legal obligation, public interest, official request or host-country regulatory requirement, as applicable. |
| Marketing preferences and future communications from the Council about other events and activities. | Consent or other valid lawful basis under the Data Protection Legislation as reflected in this Policy. |
| Accessibility, dietary or medical assistance requested by you. |
Consent where required and/or necessity to provide requested support, subject to enhanced safeguards. |
| Analytics and reporting, including attendance and engagement statistics for the Council, the Ministry, sponsors and other stakeholders. |
Legitimate event-administration purposes, with aggregation or anonymisation where appropriate. |
| Payment processing and invoicing. |
Contractual necessity and compliance with financial and legal obligations. |
2.8 The Ministry, and any sub-processor engaged in connection with the Congress, will not use your personal data for their own commercial purposes, profiling, marketing, or model or algorithm training.
2.9 Please do not supply any other person’s personal data to us unless we prompt you to do so.
3. Providing your personal data to others
3.1 We may disclose your personal data to any member of the World Energy Council group (this means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and all its subsidiaries) in so far as reasonably necessary for the purposes, and on the legal bases, set out in this Policy.
3.2 We share your personal data, in electronic format through encrypted connections and to the minimum extent necessary, with the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its capacity as data processor, and with approved sub-processors and event technology providers engaged by the Ministry in connection with the Congress. Approved sub-processors are subject to written obligations equivalent to those imposed on the Ministry under the Council DPA, and may only process your personal data on documented instructions and for the purposes described in this Policy.
3.3 We may also share your personal data with:
(a) the host and co-organisers of the Congress and other third parties such as the Member Committee of your country, or event sponsors and supporters, for the purpose of contacting you about other events or activities — this will only happen with your explicit consent, and you can opt out at any time;
(b) competent Saudi authorities (including the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA), the Digital Government Authority (DGA), and immigration, security and health authorities) where legally required, officially requested or necessary for event security, accreditation, health, safety or compliance purposes;
(c) our insurers, auditors and professional advisers, in so far as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and
(d) courts, regulators or law-enforcement authorities where required by law or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
3.4 Personal data— including accreditation, identification, passport, visa and security-screening data — shall remain under the control of the Ministry or the relevant Saudi competent authority and shall not be transferred to the Council unless (i) expressly agreed in writing by the Council and the Ministry, (ii) required under applicable Data Protection Legislation, and (iii) permitted under applicable Data Protection Legislation.
3.5 Networking, matchmaking and lead-generation features in the delegate mobile application involve sharing of your personal data with other delegates and, where applicable, sponsors and exhibitors. Further information is set out in Section 5.
3.6 In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 3, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
4. Photography, filming and audio recording
4.1 Photography, filming and audio recording will take place at the World Energy Congress 2027, including in and around the venue, in session rooms and exhibition areas, at official networking and social functions, and during livestreamed and on-demand sessions delivered via the Congress website and delegate mobile application. Photo and audio-visual recordings are recognised under the Council DPA as digital personal data. By attending the Congress you acknowledge that images, video and audio in which you may appear or be heard will be captured.
4.2 We may use this material for the following purposes:
(a) reporting on and communicating about the Congress, including on the Congress and Council websites, in newsletters, press releases and official post-event reports;
(b) marketing and promoting the Congress, future editions of the World Energy Congress and other World Energy Council events and activities;
(c) social media channels of the Council, the Ministry, sponsors, exhibitors, host and co-organisers, and Member Committees;
(d) sharing with accredited press and media covering the Congress;
(e) internal archival and educational use by the Council and the Ministry; and
(f) sponsor and exhibitor coverage, subject to the applicable event contract.
4.3 Our legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests in documenting, reporting on and promoting the Congress and future World Energy Council events. Where we use identifiable portraits, testimonials, quotes or dedicated interview footage of you for marketing purposes, we will rely on your consent, which we will obtain separately.
4.4 Speakers, panellists, moderators, VIPs, official delegations and other individuals with a formal role at the Congress should note that their images, likeness and contributions may be published and promoted more prominently in connection with the Congress programme and future editions. Additional consent or release language may be requested where required.
4.5 Accredited press, media, sponsors and exhibitors may also take their own photography, filming and audio recording at the Congress in accordance with their own policies and any accreditation terms issued by the organisers. We are not responsible for the use of such material by third parties.
4.6 We do not currently operate an on-site opt-out mechanism (such as a no-photography lanyard or badge marker). If you do not wish for your image, likeness or voice to be used for the marketing and promotional purposes described in Section 4.2, or if you wish to request the removal of a specific photograph, video clip or audio recording in which you appear, please contact us by email at congress.convening@worldenergy.org, providing enough information to identify the material concerned (for example the session, date, approximate time and a description of the image). We will consider each request on a case-by-case basis and, where the material is within our control, we will take reasonable steps to remove or cease using it within a reasonable period, subject to any exceptions permitted by applicable law, including where the material is required for journalistic, archival or legal purposes.
4.7 Requests received after material has been distributed to third parties (including press, sponsors and social media platforms) may be more difficult to give effect to; we will use reasonable efforts to notify relevant recipients but cannot guarantee removal from third-party channels.
4.8 Photography, filming and audio recording of individuals under the age of 18 will not be used for marketing or promotional purposes without the prior written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
4.9 Raw photography, filming and audio recording files created by suppliers engaged for the Congress are hosted and stored in accordance with the data-localisation requirements set out in Section 7 and the Council DPA.
5. Delegate mobile application and lead generation
5.1 The delegate mobile application (the “Mobile App”) is provided in support of the Congress by an approved sub-processor engaged by the Ministry. Use of the Mobile App is subject to a separate Mobile App Terms of Use, which you must accept before using the Mobile App. This Policy explains how your personal data is processed through the Mobile App; the Mobile App Terms of Use govern your use of the Mobile App itself, including any features, content and community rules.
5.2 As part of the registration process, the Event registration platform is integrated with the official Mobile App. Accordingly, once your registration has been confirmed, a Mobile App profile will be automatically created using the information you provided during registration.
By default, your profile will be included in the Mobile App attendee directory to support networking and event engagement. Your profile may display a limited set of information, including your full name, job title, organisation and, where provided by you during registration or subsequently through the Mobile App, your photograph and biography.
The attendee directory enables participants to identify other attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, partners and other participants, and supports networking, meeting requests, lead-generation, and other event engagement features. Your profile will only display the information made available in accordance with your visibility preferences as described in Clause 5.3.
5.3 You remain in control of the visibility of your profile and the information displayed through the Mobile App. At any time during the event, you may review and update your privacy and visibility preferences within the Mobile App settings. Depending on the functionality available within the Mobile App, you may:
(a) hide or make your profile visible within the attendee directory;
(b) choose whether specific profile information, such as your job title, organisation, photograph and biography, is displayed to other participants;
(c) enable or disable networking and matchmaking features, including direct messaging, meeting requests and interest-based recommendations, where available;
(d) manage whether your contact details, such as your email address or telephone number, are shared with other participants, sponsors or exhibitors following a connection request, meeting acceptance or lead-capture interaction; and
Any changes you make to your privacy and visibility preferences will take effect within the Mobile App as soon as reasonably practicable and will apply from the time the changes are saved. Please note that changes to your visibility settings will not affect information that has already been shared with other participants or exhibitors before your preferences were updated, where such sharing was carried out in accordance with these Terms and applicable law.
5.4 Where you choose to connect with another delegate, or to accept a meeting or contact request, the Mobile App will share the profile information you have made visible with the other party. The networking feature can only share your name, position, company, email and/or telephone number, subject to your acceptance of the Mobile App Terms of Use.
5.5 The Mobile App supports lead-generation and lead-retrieval features for approved sponsors, exhibitors and partners. Where you consent to a lead-capture interaction (for example by allowing your badge or QR code to be scanned at an exhibition stand, by accepting a meeting or by opting in to a sponsor session), your name, job title, organisation and, where you have made them visible in your profile, your email address and/or telephone number will be shared with the relevant sponsor or exhibitor. Sponsors and exhibitors act as independent controllers of the lead data they collect through the Mobile App and are responsible for their own subsequent use of that data, including any marketing communications they send to you. You should refer to their own privacy notices for further information.
5.6 We process usage, engagement, session-scanning and networking analytics generated through the Mobile App to operate the Congress, produce attendance and engagement reports, improve the delegate experience and provide aggregated or anonymised reporting to the Council, the Ministry, sponsors and other stakeholders. Retention periods for this data are set out in Section 6.
5.7 The Ministry and its approved sub-processors will not use Mobile App data for their own commercial purposes, marketing, profiling, or model or algorithm training. All Mobile App personal data is hosted and stored in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in accordance with Section 7.
5.8 You can withdraw your consent to networking, matchmaking and lead-generation features, and adjust your visibility settings, at any time through the Mobile App. Withdrawal will apply to future processing and will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. Please note that some information you have already shared with other delegates, sponsors or exhibitors through connections or lead-capture interactions may remain with those third parties, subject to their own privacy notices.
6. Retaining and deleting personal data
6.1 This Section 6 sets out our data-retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.
6.2 Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3 We will retain your personal data as follows:
(a) Usage data will be retained for a maximum of 10 years since your personal data was last logged on the Congress platforms;
(b) Enquiry data will be retained for a minimum period of 12 months following the submission of the enquiry and for a maximum period of 10 years following submission of the enquiry;
(c) Correspondence data will be retained for a minimum period of 12 months following the date of submission, and for a maximum period of 10 years following the last correspondence; and
(d) Event data processed for the Congress will be retained in accordance with the schedule set out in Section 6.4 and Appendix A of the Council DPA.
6.4 Event-specific retention periods (aligned with Appendix A11 of the Council DPA):
| Data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
|
Registration data |
Until final event wrap-up plus 30 days, unless otherwise instructed by the Controller or required by law. |
|
Payment / invoice data |
Retained by the Controller or the payment gateway according to applicable financial and legal requirements; copies not required for legal compliance are deleted. |
|
Security / ID / accreditation data |
Minimum period required under Data Protection Legislation or by a competent authority; otherwise deleted or anonymised no later than 30 days post-event. |
|
Visa / immigration data |
Minimum period required under Data Protection Legislation or by a competent authority; not retained by the Council unless expressly agreed and lawful. |
|
Session scanning / attendance data |
Until post-event reporting is complete, maximum 90 days unless otherwise instructed by the Controller. |
|
Networking / lead-retrieval data |
During the Congress and up to 30 days post-event, subject to user permissions and provider terms. |
|
Special-category / sensitive data (accessibility, dietary, medical) |
Deleted immediately after operational use, unless retention is required by law. |
|
Digital analytics data |
Retained according to the approved analytics configuration and this Policy; anonymised where possible. |
6.5 Personal data processed by the Ministry or its sub-processors shall in any event be securely deleted or anonymised no later than thirty (30) days following the conclusion of the Congress, unless a longer retention period is required under applicable Data Protection Legislation.
6.6 Where any law, regulation or competent authority requires retention beyond an agreed period, we will identify the legal basis for retention and delete the data as soon as the requirement ends.
6.7 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
7. Security of Personal Data
7.1 We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
8. Personal data collected through the Congress website
8.1 Your data collected via the World Energy Council general website is held on Iomart’s secure UK server. The data is not accessible or used by the server company. Iomart’s Privacy Policy is available at iomart.com/privacy-policy.
8.2 Your data is also stored on secure computers at the World Energy Council offices at Hamilton House, Suite 101-102, 1 Temple Avenue, London EC4Y 0HA, United Kingdom.
9. Personal data collected through the Congress registration platform
9.1 We are committed to ensuring that personal data collected through the Congress registration platform is secure. The Ministry, acting as Data Processor on behalf of the Council, has put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to prevent unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure of such data, in accordance with the Council Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and applicable Data Protection Legislation.
9.2 In accordance with Clause 11 and Appendix A8 of the Council DPA, personal data processed for the Congress by the Ministry and its sub-processors shall be stored and processed within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and shall not be transferred outside the Kingdom unless required under applicable Data Protection Legislation, approved by the competent authority where required, and subject to appropriate safeguards under PDPL and other applicable Data Protection Legislation.
10. International transfers of personal data
10.1 Because the Council is based in the United Kingdom and the Congress is delivered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, personal data may need to move between jurisdictions in limited circumstances.
10.2 Any transfer of your personal data outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall comply with UK GDPR, EU GDPR where applicable, PDPL and any applicable cross-border transfer requirements, and shall be protected by appropriate safeguards, including:
(a) the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for transfers from the United Kingdom;
(b) the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for transfers from the European Economic Area;
(c) compliance with PDPL cross-border transfer requirements and any conditions or approvals issued by SDAIA or other competent Saudi authorities; and
(d) additional technical, organisational and contractual measures where required by a transfer-risk assessment.
10.3 Personal data classified as Restricted under the Council DPA — including accreditation, identification, passport, visa and security-screening data — shall remain under the control of the Ministry or the relevant Saudi competent authority and shall not be transferred to the Council or outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unless expressly agreed in writing between the Council and the Ministry, required under applicable Data Protection Legislation, and permitted under applicable Data Protection Legislation.
11. Amendments
11.1 We may update this Policy from time to time by publishing a new version on the Congress website.
11.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this Policy.
11.3 We may notify you of changes to this Policy by email.
12. Your rights
12.1 In this Section 10, we have summarised the rights that you have under UK GDPR, EU GDPR and Saudi PDPL data-protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.
12.2 Your principal rights under data-protection law are:
(a) the right to access;
(b) the right to rectification;
(c) the right to erasure;
(d) the right to restrict processing;
(e) the right to object to processing;
(f) the right to data portability;
(g) the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and
(h) the right to withdraw consent.
12.3 You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data.
12.4 You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.
12.5 In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data-protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
12.6 In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful, but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.
12.7 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
12.8 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose. If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from us, you may opt out by clicking the unsubscribe link in the emails you receive from us or by contacting us directly. Your request may take up to 30 days to be met. Please note that opting out of marketing communications will not affect essential communications related to your participation in the Congress. If you opt out, we won’t be able to provide you with information on other relevant events and activities.
12.9 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.
12.10 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:
(a) consent; or
(b) that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract, and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.
12.11 If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data-protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement, with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), or with the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA).
12.12 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.
12.13 You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice or via email to us, in addition to the other methods specified in this Section. The Ministry will notify the Council without undue delay of any data-subject request received in connection with the Congress.
13. Third party websites
13.1 The Congress website includes hyperlinks to, and details of, third party websites, including those of sponsors, exhibitors, partners and host authorities.
13.2 We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies and practices of third parties.
14. Updating information
Please let us know if the personal information that we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.
15. About cookies
15.1 A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
15.2 Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
15.3 Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
16. Cookies that we use
16.1 We use cookies on the Congress website and delegate mobile application for the following purposes:
(a) to help us to analyse the use and performance of our website and services;
(b) to store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies more generally;
(c) to enable core registration, authentication and payment functionality; and
(d) where required by applicable law and with your consent, to support analytics, marketing and engagement measurement.
16.2 Our service use cookies and similar technologies to help us understand how visitors interact with the Congress website, registration platform and related digital services. These cookies may collect information about website usage, pages visited, navigation patterns, device and browser information, and general user interactions. The information collected helps us monitor performance, improve functionality, enhance user experience, and measure the effectiveness of our communications and content.
Where required by applicable law, analytics and similar non-essential cookies will only be placed on your device with your consent.
16.3 Our service providers use the following categories of cookies:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies – required for the operation, security and functionality of the website, registration platform and related services.
- Analytics Cookies – used to understand how visitors use our website and services, so that we can improve performance and user experience.
- Functionality Cookies – used to remember user preferences and enable enhanced website features.
- Marketing and Measurement Cookies – used, where consent has been provided, to measure the effectiveness of communications, advertising and promotional activities.
Further information about the specific cookies and similar technologies currently in use, including their providers, purposes and retention periods, is available through the privacy policy available on the website.
17. Managing cookies
17.1 Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via the browser vendors’ support pages (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Edge and equivalent).
17.2 Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites, including the Congress website and delegate mobile application.
17.3 If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features of the Congress platforms.
18. Our details
18.1 This Policy is issued by the World Energy Council, owner of the World Energy Congress and Data Controller under the Council DPA, in respect of the World Energy Congress 2027.
18.2 The World Energy Council is a registered UK charity (charity number 1086559) and a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales with company number 04184478.
18.3 The Council’s registered office is at Hamilton House, Suite 101-102, 1 Temple Avenue, London EC4Y 0HA, United Kingdom.
18.4 You can contact the Council:
(a) by post, to the postal address given above;
(b) using the Congress website contact form;
(c) by telephone, on +44 (0) 20 7734 5996; or
(d) by email, at congress.convening@worldenergy.org.
18.5 For matters relating to the World Energy Congress 2027 registration, mobile application, payment, accreditation, visa or data hosted or processed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, contact: PDP@moenergy.gov.sa