Waladi

Who we are

waladi is youth-led. Our senior leadership, permanent members and volunteers are all under 21. Partners and associate brands who work with us can be any age. We are not a registered company or charity.

In these terms, "waladi", "we" and "us" mean waladi and the people who run it. "You" means anyone who uses this website. Questions about these terms go to our Chief Legal and Ethics Officer, Mntalla Alwahabi.

Agreeing to these terms

On your first visit, we ask you to agree to these terms before you continue. By agreeing, or by using the site in any way, you accept them in full. If you do not agree, please do not use the site.

If you are under 18, please read these terms with a parent, guardian or another adult you trust before you use the site.

Our independence

waladi is not part of, or funded by, any government, political party, armed group or religious organisation, and we do not take sides in any conflict. We report on what is happening to children.

Distressing content

Some of our reporting describes war, violence, injury and loss as they affect children. It can be upsetting to read.

We do not publish graphic images of injury or death. Even so, some stories may not be suitable for younger readers without an adult, and we mark the hardest ones with a warning before they begin.

Using this website

You are welcome to read the site, share links to it and tell people about our work. You must not:

use it to break the law, or to harm, threaten or harass anyone;
try to hack, damage or overload it, or get into any part of it that is not public;
upload or send anything containing viruses or harmful code;
pretend to be waladi, or a member of our team;
copy it, or large parts of it, using automated tools, including to train artificial intelligence;
use anything on it to identify, find or contact a child we have reported on.

If you find a security problem

If you find a weakness in this website, tell us at [general email]. Please do not test it further, use it, or tell anyone else about it until we have fixed it.

How we report

We only publish what we have been able to check, and we name our sources wherever it is safe to do so.
We do not publish rumours.
We do not name private individuals who are accused of wrongdoing.
We do not publish a photo of any identifiable person without their consent.
We do not publish anything that insults any religion, nationality or group of people.
We clearly separate facts from opinion.
We correct mistakes openly, as explained below.

Raising a story

When you raise a story, you promise that it is true as far as you know, that you have not made any of it up, that you have told us where you heard it, and that you have left out anything that could put the child at risk.

You are responsible for what you send us, including making sure it is true and that you have the right to share it.

You keep ownership of what you send. By sending it, you give us permission, free of charge, to check it, edit it for clarity and safety, and publish it on this website and our social media once we have consent. As far as the law allows, you also agree not to object to how we edit or present it, as long as we do not change its meaning. Our Safeguarding page explains how we ask for consent.

You can withdraw a story at any time, including after it is published.

We may decide not to publish a story, and we may not always be able to say why. To withdraw one, email [general email].

Our work and copyright

The articles, design and logo on this site belong to waladi. Photographs belong to waladi or to the person who took them.

You may share links to any page, and quote a short passage if you credit waladi and link back.
You must not show our pages inside another website, or link to us in a way that suggests we are connected to you when we are not.
To republish a full article or any photograph, ask our press desk first at [press email].
Do not use our name or logo in a way that suggests we support you or your cause.

Never download, copy, edit or reuse an image of a child from this site, for any reason.

If you think we used your work

If you believe something on this site uses your writing, photograph or other work without permission, email [press email] with a link to it and proof that it is yours. We will take it down while we look into it, and remove it for good if you are right.

Working with us

Our senior leadership, permanent members and volunteers must be under 21, and we may ask you to confirm your age. If you are under 18, we will ask a parent or guardian to agree before you start.

Applying does not guarantee a place, and it does not create a job, a contract or any right to be paid. We may turn down any application, and end any role, at any time.

People who work with us only speak or act for waladi when they are doing work we have asked them to do. What anyone says or does in their own name, including on their own social media, is their own responsibility.

Partners and associate brands

Partners and associate brands can be any age. They work with us under their own written agreement, which applies alongside these terms.

They may only use our name or logo with our written permission, and they never speak or act for waladi unless we have agreed to it in writing. We may end any partnership at any time.

Our official accounts

Our only official social media accounts are the ones linked from this website. Any other account using our name is not us, and we are not responsible for anything it says or does. If you see one, tell us at [general email].

We never ask for money

waladi does not accept donations, payments or gifts of any kind.

If anyone asks you for money in our name, it is not us. Do not pay, and tell us at [general email]. We are not responsible for any money you give to someone pretending to be us.

Information, not advice

Everything on this site is for general information only. It is not legal, medical, safety, travel or professional advice.

Please do not make decisions that could affect your safety, or anyone else's, based only on what you read here. Always check with the right professional or authority.

Mistakes and problems

We check our reporting carefully, but we cannot promise that everything on the site is complete, accurate or up to date. Figures can change as new information comes in.

If you spot a mistake, or anything on the site that is harmful, tell us at [general email]. If it concerns a child's safety, use [safeguarding email] instead. We will remove anything that could put a child at risk as quickly as we can.

Corrections and right of reply

If you believe something we published about you, or about an organisation you represent, is wrong or unfair, email [press email]. Tell us exactly what you think is wrong and why, and include anything that shows it.

We will look at it carefully. If we got something wrong, we will correct it and add a note saying what we changed. If we disagree, we will tell you why, and we may add your response to the story.

Other websites

We link to other websites and social platforms, and some parts of our site are provided by other services, such as Framer and Google Forms. We do not control them and are not responsible for what they publish or how they work. Their own terms apply.

No promises about the website

We provide this website as it is and as it is available. We do not promise that it will always be online, work without interruption, or be free of errors or viruses. We may change, pause or remove any part of it at any time, without notice.

Limits on our responsibility

As far as the law allows, waladi is not responsible for:

any loss or damage that comes from using this website, or from relying on anything on it;
any loss we could not reasonably have expected;
any loss of data, income, opportunity or reputation;
anything said or done by other websites, services or people we link to;
anything caused by events outside our reasonable control.

The law does not allow anyone to limit some kinds of responsibility, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. Nothing in these terms tries to limit those, or takes away any rights you have under the law where you live.

If you break these terms

We take misuse of this site seriously, especially anything that could put a child at risk.

If you break these terms, we may:

block your access to the site and to our social media accounts;
remove anything you have sent us;
report you to the police or other authorities, where the law requires it or a child may be at risk;
take legal action against you, including if you misuse the site, harm or endanger a child, pretend to be us, or use our work without permission.

As far as the law allows, you agree to be responsible for any loss, damage or legal costs that waladi suffers because you broke these terms or the law.

If you have a problem with us, talk to us first

If you are unhappy with anything we have done, please contact Mntalla Alwahabi at [general email] before taking any other step. Tell us what happened and what you would like us to do.

We aim to reply within 14 days and to put things right within 30 days.

Giving us that chance first does not take away any legal right you have.

Events outside our control

We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as conflict, natural disasters, power or internet outages, or problems with the services we rely on.

How to read these terms

Headings are only there to help you find your way. They do not change what a section means.
Words like "including" and "such as" introduce examples. They do not limit what comes before them.
If these terms and our Safeguarding page ever disagree on anything about a child's safety, the Safeguarding page applies.

General points

These terms, together with our Privacy and Safeguarding pages, are the whole agreement between you and us about this website.
If a court decides that any part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies.
If we do not enforce a part of these terms straight away, we can still enforce it later.
You may not pass your rights under these terms to anyone else. We may pass ours to another organisation that continues our work, for example if waladi becomes registered.
No one other than you and us has any rights under these terms.
Nothing in these terms makes you our partner, employee or agent.
The sections on copyright, our responsibility and breaking these terms still apply after you stop using the site.
These terms are available in English and Arabic. If the two versions differ, the English version applies, as far as the law allows.

Contacting each other

We may contact you by email, or by posting a notice on this website. You can contact us at [general email]. An email counts as written notice for anything in these terms.

Which law applies

These terms are governed by the laws of Lebanon. Any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of Lebanon, unless the law where you live gives you the right to bring a claim there instead.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms at any time. When we do, we will change the date at the top of this page. If you keep using the site after a change, you accept the updated terms.