1. Parties, electronic acceptance, and contract formation
“CIFRA” means CIFRA FZCO, a company registered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, under registration number DMCC-848230 and licence number DMCC193593, with its registered address at Unit No. 1797, DMCC Business Centre, Level 1, Jewellery & Gemplex 3, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The “Participant” is the individual identified in the registration form.
By ticking “I have read and agree to the Interview Participation Terms” and submitting the registration form, the Participant confirms acceptance of these Terms and applies to participate in the interview. Registration alone does not oblige CIFRA to arrange or conduct an interview.
The contract is concluded, and CIFRA’s obligation to arrange the interview arises, only when CIFRA sends a confirmation email to the Participant’s registered email address.
Following confirmation, CIFRA will coordinate the interview date and time with the Participant, designate the online platform, and provide the Participant with the access link and any necessary joining instructions.
CIFRA may retain the Participant’s submitted name, email address, CIFRA profile information, the accepted version of these Terms, and the date and time of acceptance as evidence. Electronic records and communications may be used to form and evidence the contract under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services.

2. Interview terms

• Period: August-September 2026, exact date and time agreed separately.
• Format: one online call of approximately 60 minutes.
• Task: attend and answer CIFRA’s research questions in good faith.
• No preparation or materials are required.

The interview is completed when the scheduled call takes place. 
It is also completed if CIFRA ends it early for its own convenience. 
CIFRA may treat it as not completed if the Participant does not attend, leaves early without agreement, or cannot meaningfully participate for reasons within the Participant’s control.

3. Compensation
CIFRA will pay USD 50 for a completed interview (gross). This is the amount before receiving-bank, intermediary-bank and currency-conversion charges, the Participant may receive less after those charges.
Payment will be made by wire transfer after the (a) completion of the interview and (b) CIFRA’s receipt and verification of complete payment information. 
No payment is due if the interview does not take place. 
The payment period is suspended while missing or inaccurate details are corrected. 
The Participant is responsible for their taxes, except for any withholding or reporting required from CIFRA by law.

4. Registration and payment information
Registration requires the Participant’s full name, email, and CIFRA profile link or username. For identity verification and payment, CIFRA may also require:

• a valid ID or passport copy;
• IBAN and SWIFT/BIC, where applicable;
• the account holder’s full legal name; 
• the bank’s name and country.

The Participant must provide accurate information and use the secure link supplied by CIFRA. 
CIFRA may request corrections or additional information reasonably required by a bank, payment provider, tax, sanctions, anti-fraud, or other compliance rules.

5. Personal data, recording, and AI transcription
CIFRA is the controller of personal data collected in connection with the registration, interview, and payment. CIFRA processes such data to arrange and conduct the interview, verify identity, make and document payment, prevent fraud, comply with legal obligations, and establish or defend legal claims.
Processing is carried out under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data and, where applicable, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). CIFRA relies on consent or another lawful basis, including pre-contractual steps, performance of the contract, legal obligations and, under the GDPR where appropriate, legitimate interests.
CIFRA may record the interview or use an AI-based service to transcribe or summarise it. 
AI tools will be used only to assist with transcription, translation, summarisation, or research analysis and will not make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects for the Participant. 
Unless a longer period is required by applicable law:

• interview recordings, AI-generated transcripts, and identifiable research notes will be deleted or irreversibly anonymised no later than six months after the interview;
• if the interview does not take place, registration and scheduling information will be deleted or irreversibly anonymised no later than six months after cancellation or CIFRA’s notice that the interview will not proceed; 
• identity and banking information will be deleted when payment and the associated verification are completed and, in any event, within six months, unless longer retention is legally required.

CIFRA may retain contract-acceptance records, payment records, and information required for tax, accounting, sanctions, regulatory, or legal-claims purposes for the period required by applicable law. 
Irreversibly anonymised or aggregated research findings may be retained after the six-month period because they no longer identify the Participant. 
Residual copies in secure backups will be deleted under CIFRA’s normal backup cycle and will not be used for other purposes.
CIFRA may share necessary data with its personnel and with identity-verification, banking, payment, accounting, IT, AI-transcription, security, legal and compliance providers, and with authorities where legally required. Where Chapter V GDPR applies to an international transfer, CIFRA will use a valid transfer mechanism and any required supplementary safeguards.
The Participant may withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing already lawfully carried out. Subject to applicable law, the Participant may also request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability, object to processing, and lodge a complaint with the UAE Data Office or a competent EU/EEA supervisory authority.

6. Recording, responses, and intellectual property
CIFRA may take written notes and use responses internally for research and service improvement, including in anonymised or aggregated form. CIFRA will not record the call or publicly use the Participant’s name, image, voice, profile, quotations or identifiable responses without prior notice and any separate consent or permission required by law.
The Participant keeps all rights in their existing artworks and materials. No intellectual-property rights are transferred under these Terms.

7. Scheduling and confidentiality
Either party may request rescheduling. CIFRA may cancel before the interview, if it does not take place, no payment is due unless CIFRA agrees otherwise in writing. If technical problems interrupt the call, the parties will reasonably try to reconnect or reschedule the remaining time.
The Participant must not disclose non-public information that CIFRA identifies as confidential, or that is clearly confidential from the circumstances. This does not cover information lawfully known without restriction, independently developed, public through no breach, or required to be disclosed by law.

8. Status, liability, and governing law
The Participant acts independently. These Terms do not create employment, agency, partnership, or authority to bind CIFRA. Each party remains liable as required by applicable law. Neither party is liable for delay caused by events outside its reasonable control. Nothing excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
These Terms and the contract are governed by the federal laws of the United Arab Emirates and the laws in force in the Emirate of Dubai. The courts of Dubai have exclusive jurisdiction, except where mandatory law requires another forum.

9. General
These Terms, the registration, CIFRA’s confirmation email, and incorporated payment instructions are the entire agreement about the interview. 
Any change must be agreed in writing, except change required by law. If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder continues. 
Notices may be sent by email.