Terms and Conditions for the "Call for Speakers" Contest

​​ E-commerce Capitals organizes the contest called "Call for Speakers" (formerly known as “Call for Papers”), designed to identify and honor the most outstanding presentation proposals for the E-commerce Berlin Expo conference. This initiative aims to showcase innovative ideas and insights that will shape the future of the industry.

To ensure transparency and clarity regarding the contest rules, as well as to provide comprehensive information about the organizer, E-commerce Capitals establishes the following document outlining the rules, terms, and conditions of the contest.

General information and contact details of the Administrator

E-commerce Capitals sp. z o.o. sp. k. (the Limited Liability Company limited partnership) with its registered seat in Poznań (postal code 60-766), ul. Jana Matejki 6/7, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs under the National Court Register (number 0000592712) and the register of entrepreneurs under KRS (number 0000592712), whose registration files are kept by the District Court for Poznań - Nowe Miasto and Wilda in Poznań, VIII Commercial Division of the National Court Register using the given 7792439665 tax identification number and REGON number 36746333, hereinafter referred to as ‘Company’ or ‘Administrator’, is fulfilling the obligation specified in art. 12, sec. 1 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), hereinafter referred to as ‘GDPR’, as personal data administrator, hereby presents this information, asking whoever it may concern to get acquainted with it. The Administrator provides the following contact details for communication regarding personal data processing. Email address: office@ecommercecapitals.com, address: ul. Jana Matejki 6/7, 60-766 Poznań (Poland).

§1 Definitions

1. Organizer/Administrator - E-commerce Capitals sp. z o.o. sp. k. (Limited Liability Company limited partnership) with its registered seat in Poznań (postal code 60-766), ul. Jana Matejki 6/7, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs under the National Court Register (number 0000592712) and the register of entrepreneurs under KRS (number 0000592712), whose registration files are kept by the District Court for Poznań - Nowe Miasto and Wilda in Poznań, VIII Commercial Division of the National Court Register using the given 7792439665 tax identification number and REGON number 36746333.
2. Contest - a multi-stage process aimed at selecting the Winners of the Contest, which includes all phases from submission to the announcement of Winners, as defined in these Terms and Conditions.
3. Advisory Board - the group of experts nominated by the Organizer, who participate in the selection of Contest Winners based on rules specified in these Terms and Conditions.
4. Internet Users - users of the Contest Website, who are not members of the Advisory Board and who participate in the public voting.
5. Participant - entrepreneur of an enterprise, a natural person with full legal capacity, a legal person or an organizational unit that has the capacity to perform legal acts, and that has entered or been submitted for the Contest, and meets the conditions of participation specified by these Terms and Conditions.
6. Nominee - a participant whose proposal has advanced to the final round of the Contest, having been selected based on the highest number of audience votes within each category. Nominees are eligible for further evaluation by the Advisory Board, which will determine the final Winners.
7. Contest Winner - the participant whose proposal has been selected as the best in one of the two tracks of the Contest:

• Advisory Board Selection of NomineesTrack,
• The Wildcard Selection Track.

9. Competition Website - the website of the contest available here
10. Terms and Conditions – this document.

§2 Entry into the Contest

1. Participation in the contest is open to all individuals (natural persons). Anyone interested in submitting a proposal is encouraged to take part, as long as they have relevant content that aligns with the contest's focus.
2. Individuals who are family members or are directly supervised by a member of the Advisory Board that evaluates the Contest Participants are not allowed to enter the Contest.
3. Contest submissions are open solely via the application form available on the Contest website. Participation in the Contest is subject to the fulfilment of all mandatory form fields and acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.
4. By entering the Contest, Participants consent to the Organizer publishing the information requried in the submission form and Participant profile. This includes the Participant's name(s) and the company’s logo. This information may be used on the Contest Website and in all promotional and advertising materials related to the Contest, both during the Contest and for one year after the Contest ends.

§3 Personal Data

1. In the event of Participant data being personal data, the Organizer is the administrator of personal data.
2. If the Participant agrees to this, the personal data will be used for the organization and conduct of the Contest, as well as for the Organizer's promotional and marketing purposes.
3. The Organizer is fulfilling the obligation specified in art. 12, sec. 1 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), hereinafter referred to as ‘GDPR’, as personal data administrator, hereby presents this information, asking whoever it may concern to get acquainted with it.
4. For more information related to processing of personal data please go here

§4 Schedule of the Contest

The contest will be conducted in the following stages:

• Stage I (September 2, 2024 - September 27, 2024, 23:59 CET) – Contest submissions
• Stage II (October 1, 2024 - October 18, 2024, 16:59 CET) – Internet users’ public voting
• Stage III (October 23, 2024 - October 29, 2024) – Public voting Nominees announcement, Advisory Board evaluation
• Stage IV (October 30, 2024) – announcement of the Contest Winners

§5 Stage I – Contest submissions

1. Stage I of the Contest includes submissions in the following categories described on the Contest Website:

• AI in E-commerce,
• FutureTech,
• Shop Systems & E-commerce Software,
• Supply Chain & Logistics,
• Fintech,
• Cross-border & International Expansion,
• Marketing,
• Customer Journey,
• Leadership & Strategic Management.

2. Submission to the Contest can be made only by a person who is entitled to act on behalf of the Participant.
3. Entry into the Contest, participation, as well as the prize - presenting at the E-commerce Berlin Expo conference by the Winners - shall be provided at no cost.
4. The Organizer reserves the right to delete any submission that is deemed incomplete, irrelevant, or not aligned with the Contest's purpose, including, but not limited to, submissions that may be considered disruptive, inappropriate, or otherwise detrimental to the Contest's integrity. The Organizer's determination in this regard is final and not subject to appeal.
5. The Organizer reserves the right to reassign any submission to a different Contest category if it is determined that the submission has been placed in an incorrect category. Participants agree that this decision is final and cannot be contested. This adjustment may only be made during the submission phase of the Contest.
6. The Organizer reserves the right to discontinue the Contest in the given category if the number of entries is less than 5 submissions.
7. Each Participant is allowed a maximum of two submissions in total, with only one submission permitted in each category. If a Participant submits more than two proposals in the Contest, the Organizer reserves the right to delete the third submission and any additional submissions. Furthermore, if a Participant submits more than one proposal within the same category, the Organizer may delete the subsequent submissions. The Organizer will make efforts to contact the Participant to clarify which submissions should be retained. However, if the Organizer is unable to establish contact, the Organizer retains the right to make the final decision regarding submissions. Participants agree that these decisions are final and cannot be contested.

§6 Stage II – Internet Users’ public voting, contest nominations

1. Stage II includes public voting of Internet Users, which takes place through the Contest Website. Each Internet User can cast one vote in each category (only one vote is allowed per one IP address).
2. The Organizer uses Linkedin as a verification tool to confirm the identity of a voting person or a company. The contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Linkedin. Users' content or information will not be collected by the Organizer. Information obtained from a person’s or company’s interaction with the call-to-action button will not be used for any purpose other than to provide the service associated with the call-to-action button. There is no obligation to share the cast vote on a personal/company timeline.
3. Every Participant is ultimately responsible for the actions taken with his account, or by applications associated with his account.
4. The Organizer will utilize measures to ensure the integrity of the voting process, including monitoring for automated voting and implementing IP address tracking to prevent multiple votes from the same User. Usage of any automated scripting/services, paid mass services or another automatic device, program, algorithm or technology which perform the same action, as well as any kind of automation executed by a third party in the voting process will result in the removal of the submission and canceling of the participation in the contest and will be immediately executed by the Organizer.
5. Only votes cast by Internet Users until October 18, 2024, 16:59 CET will be considered in the final summary of the voting.
6. The five Participants in each category who receive the highest number of votes during the Internet Users' public voting will be selected as Nominees. In the event of a tie affecting the fifth position, all Participants who are tied for that position will also be included as Nominees.

§7 Stage III – Evaluation by the Advisory Board

1. Stage III includes the evaluation by the Advisory Board, which determines the Contest Winners across two distinct tracks:

• Advisory Board Selection of Nominees Track: In this track, the Advisory Board reviews the Nominees chosen by public voting. They evaluate these Nominees based on the criteria specified in §8. The Nominee with the highest total Advisory Board votes in each category is selected as the Winner.
• The Wildcard Selection Track: In this track, the Advisory Board can select up to 20 Winners from all submissions, regardless of public voting results, based on the criteria specified in §8.

2. Advisors cast their votes using a special form provided by the Organizer.
3. Any Advisor may abstain from voting in a specific category if the Participant being assessed is their client, a client of the entity with which they are associated, or includes any member of their organization or employees.
4. In the case of an equal score obtained by two or more Participants in the Public Voting and Advisory Board Selection Track, the Contest Winner is the one who has received the highest number of points in the Internet Users’ voting in that category.

§8 Selection Criteria:

The Advisory Board evaluates submissions based on the following criteria:

• relevance: Proposals should be connected to the conference theme, "Differentiation and Innovation in Challenging Times," and should offer meaningful contributions that align with the overall goals of the event.
• non-promotional content: Self-promotion should be kept to a minimum, focusing instead on delivering value to the audience.
• case studies: Proposals should include practical, real-life examples to demonstrate the application of insights.
• evidence and data: Proposals should use credible data, research, or case studies to support key points in the proposal.
• innovation and originality: Proposals should present new ideas or approaches that offer fresh perspectives, distinguishing the proposal from conventional content.
• clarity and structure: Proposals should be well-organized and clearly communicate the topic, objectives, and key takeaways.
• speaker expertise: The expertise and background of the speaker(s) should align with the topic, ideally featuring C-level executives or industry leaders.

§9 Stage V - Announcement of the Contest Winners

1. The announcement of the Contest Winners will take place on the “E-commerce Germany News” Potal www.ecommercegermany.com on October 30, 2024. All Winners will be directly notified by the Organizer via email within 48 hours of the announcement.

§10 Contest Prize

The Contest Winners will be awarded the opportunity to present at the E-commerce Berlin Expo 2025 conference. It is important to note that:

• the Organizer will not provide any compensation for accommodation, travel costs, or related expenses incurred by the Winners.
• winners will be required to sign an agreement confirming their participation and acceptance of the terms for presenting on stage.
• The Organizer will allocate a time slot and stage for each Winner to perform. Winners must be available to present on either February 19 or February 20, 2025. The specific time slots will be communicated to the Winners a few weeks in advance of the conference.

§11 Contest Communication Channels

1. All information related to the Contest will be published on the Contest Website. The Organizer will contact Contestants via email.
2. The Organizer may publish information about the Contest and its results also in other media, in particular on social media, in the press, radio, television, and outdoor advertising media.
3. The Organizer reserves the right to publish the results of the Contest on the Contest Website in particular. The results of the Contest will also be published on the websites of the Contest media patrons and the entities sponsoring the Organizer. Their logos are published on the Contest Website.
4. Participants who agree to participate in the Contest also express their consent to the above activities of the Organizer.

§12 Filing and Handling Complaints

1. All complaints about the Contest must be submitted via email to office@ecommercecapitals.com not later than within 7 (seven) days from the date of the announcement of the Contest Winners.
2. The complaint should include the name and the email address of the complaining party, as well as the description and reason for the complaint.
3. Complaints will be considered by the Organizer within 7 (seven) days of their receipt. The complaining party will be notified about the result of the complaint via email.
4. These Terms & Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Poland. In the event of any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms & Conditions, the parties shall seek to resolve the matter amicably. If an amicable resolution cannot be reached, the dispute shall be submitted to the competent court in Poznań, Poland.

§13 Final Provisions

1. These Terms & Conditions are available at the Organizer's premises and the Contest Website.
2. These Terms & Conditions apply from the time of its announcement on the Contest Website.