General terms and conditions of sale

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The “WORLD IS A VILLAGE” Platform (the “Platform”) is made available to users by World is a Village, a simplified company limited by shares, with a share capital of 19,427 euros, registered on the Nanterre Trade and Companies Register under number 837 847 177, whose registered office is located at 23, rue de Vienne – 75008 Paris (hereafter referred to as “WORLD IS A VILLAGE”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

By accepting any or all of the Services offered by WORLD IS A VILLAGE, i.e. Homestay Travel and Digital Journey, as described below (the “Service(s)”), you agree to these General Terms and Conditions (“Terms of Sale” or this “Agreement”) as a “Member” (indicating that you have created your Account). The term “Member” refers to an individual registered with a dedicated Homestay Travel community and/or a person subscribed to use the Digital Journey service. If you do not accept these Terms of Sale, you should not use any part of the Platform or Services offered by WORLD IS A VILLAGE.

WORLD IS A VILLAGE reserves the right to amend these Terms of Sale at any time. The amendments will take effect when they are published on the website worldisavillage.com. The latest updated version will be available to all and accessible on the Platform, by clicking on the “General Terms and Conditions of Sale” link.

If you have an Account and you wish to send your child to stay with a family that is a “WORLD IS A VILLAGE” member (Homestay Travel), or you wish your child to use the Digital Journey service, you will be asked to accept these Terms of Sale by ticking a box when subscribing to one of the two services offered by WORLD IS A VILLAGE. Each time the Terms of Sale are amended, Members will be asked to agree to such amendment by ticking a box. If you are a Member and do not agree to such amendment, you must unsubscribe from, and stop using, the Platform.

To understand the rules of use applying to the Platform, consult our Terms of Use that you are required to read and accept in order to continue using the Platform and subscribe to the “WORLD IS A VILLAGE” Services

To understand our confidentiality and protection of privacy policy, please consult our Protection of Privacy and Cookies Policy, which also governs your use of the Platform and Services. We recommend that you print out these Terms of Sale for your own records.

1 – APPLICABLE TERMS OF SALE

Please read these Terms of Sale carefully and ensure that you fully understand them when finalising your Account to use one of the Services offered by WORLD IS A VILLAGE. Please note that when you create your Account, you will be asked to agree to these Terms of Sale. If you refuse to agree to these Terms of Sale, you will not be able to create your Account.

If you wish to contact us, including if you have any questions or complaints, or if you wish to report an incident to us, any behaviour that would be contrary to these Terms of Sale or any difficulty you encounter with another Member, you may do so by calling our customer service team on +33 / or by sending us an email to the email address .

2 – PRESENTATION OF THE SERVICE

2.1 Digital Journey

Digital Journey is a 100% digital online conversation programme for teenagers wishing to speak a foreign language. Digital Journey is based on innovative teaching methods. Teenagers learn by interacting with each other, through online games, weekly assignments and cultural quizzes managed by the WORLD IS A VILLAGE educational team.

The platform on which the entire programme runs is the platform DISCORD https://discord.com/ (“DISCORD”).

WORLD IS A VILLAGE’s choice to use DISCORD was made for i) security reasons: WORLD IS A VILLAGE has a dedicated and secure server, and ii) educational reasons: DISCORD is an easy and fun tool to use which is familiar to teenagers.

Digital Journey builds teenagers’ confidence for speaking a foreign language, develops their network abroad, opens up to their world and improves their ability to communicate in a foreign language.

Each teenager’s commitment and participation are rewarded through them being awarded points (other than the WIV Points described below) and their reaching the games’ levels of increasing difficulty.

Reaching these levels gives access to prizes, defined in a catalogue.

Points won are not transferable.
Prizes offered are in limited numbers and can be replaced at any time by WORLD IS A VILLAGE.
Together with the prizes, users can choose for a donation of the same value as the prize to be made to the WORLD IS A VILLAGE Foundation.
Points or prizes may not give rise to the payment of a cash sum, gifts being taken back or the sum given to the foundation being reimbursed.
Users will not be reimbursed for points not used, nor will unused points be taken back or transferred by WORLD IS A VILLAGE.
Points are valid for as long as the teenager is subscribed to the Service. In the case where the subscription is cancelled, the points are lost.

Two options are offered within the Digital Journey:

“Standard” Digital Journey:

Access to the teenage community on DISCORD
Support and assistance
Daily quiz
Weekly assignment
Weekly participation in online collective games: “Village Games”
Access to special online events throughout the year
Access to the “WORLD IS A VILLAGE” Homestay Travel Community and a credit of 1,000 WIV points, whose value is equivalent to 10 free nights.

“Premium” Digital Journey:

In addition to the services offered in Digital Journey, Digital Journey Premium also includes:

2 times 30 minutes of one-to-one tuition per month with a language coach (i.e. 24 sessions over the year).

2.2 Homestay Travel

The Service enables member families to make contact with one another. Families can use the Service’s “matching” system to send their children from the age of 10 years old on trips anywhere in the world.

The Service is based on a relationship of trust between Members, who can access the Platform either as employees of an inter-company network or as members of a community developed by WORLD IS A VILLAGE, or through the sponsorship of another Member.

In addition, Members may, at their discretion, choose to subscribe to certain associated services offered to them by WORLD IS A VILLAGE or by one of its partners.

Matching

WORLD IS A VILLAGE connects Platform Members, based on the criteria set by Members, thereby enabling families to meet and organise a trip for their children.
Contacts between families are made through a chat and video calls facility available on the platform, to finalize the terms and conditions of their children’s trip.
It is strictly forbidden for Members in contact either to communicate with one another outside the Platform, or exchange any of their contact details by any means whatsoever, in order to avoid the paying the sums due for the Service provided, or to organise a trip off the Platform. Should any Member fail to respect this obligation, WORLD IS A VILLAGE has the right to exclude them from the Platform and to initiate any proceedings to sanction such behaviour and obtain compensation for the losses sustained.
This Service is personal. This means that if you decide to send one of your children to a family, you cannot send another person instead. The agreement of the host family is a prerequisite for any stay.

Purchase of assistance insurance

In compliance with the provisions of the Insurance Code and the recommendations of the ACPR (French Prudential Supervisory Authority) and ORIAS (French Register for Insurance Intermediaries), WORLD IS A VILLAGE offers Members the opportunity to take out a “Repatriation and Medical” insurance to cover the child during their trip.
The insurance is provided by Assur Travel, the preferred insurer of WORLD IS A VILLAGE. The Member may also decide to take out their own insurance.
In any event, WORLD IS A VILLAGE strongly advises you to verify that you have taken out an Assistance insurance covering your child during their stay. WORLD IS A VILLAGE can accept no liability where there is no cover.
If the Assistance Insurance made available on the Platform is taken out, the Member will take out a separate policy with the insurer.
If a Member has to use the assistance service provided by their insurance policy, they must contact the assistance platform as soon as possible according to the instructions and terms communicated to them.
WORLD IS A VILLAGE does not take out insurance policies on behalf of Members and acts as a simple intermediary between the Members and insurer. It therefore accepts no liability for any failings attributable to the insurer, nor does it accept any claim from Members no matter the cause.
Private Life Liability insurance is included in the service charge. For more details, please refer to the general terms and conditions of assistance and private life liability insurance available on request.

Transport

Members are responsible for organising their child’s transport to the host family.

WIV points

When subscribing to the Platform, each family receives WIV points in connection with their subscription. The more a Member completes his profile, the more WIV points they receive. Members will not be reimbursed for any WIV points they fail to use, nor will points be taken back by WORLD IS A VILLAGE. WIV points are returned to the WORLD IS A VILLAGE Foundation in the event that (i) the Member leaves the company, association, school or any other network associated with WORLD IS A VILLAGE, without switching to another community (ii) the company, association, school or any other network associated with WORLD IS A VILLAGE does not renew its contract with WORLD IS A VILLAGE (iii) the Member is excluded from the WORLD IS A VILLAGE community for non-compliance with the Charter.
In addition, to encourage Members to receive children, Members will, whenever they act as host to a child, be given a number of WIV points from the family that send their child. The number of WIV points exchanged depends on the duration of the stay.
Finally, Members wishing to obtain more WIV points may purchase them on the Platform.
The value of WIV points is determined by WORLD IS A VILLAGE and corresponds to the prices displayed on the Platform. These prices may be modified by WORLD IS A VILLAGE at any time.
WIV points may not be transferred to other families and are added to the total of WIV points held by the Member. They are valid for a period of three (3) years from their date of purchase and must be used before that date, failing which they will be lost.
Purchased WIV points may be withdrawn and therefore Members may be reimbursed by WORLD IS A VILLAGE within 14 days of being ordered. If you wish to be reimbursed for purchased WIV points, please send your request to .
When WIV points have reached their expiry date, they will be deemed lost.

3. HOW THE CONTRACT IS CONCLUDED BETWEEN YOU AND US

3.1 Homestay Travel

The Platform’s pages will take you through the steps you need to follow to be put in contact with a family and, then, to prepare, carry out and follow your child’s stay. Our Service enables you to check and modify any errors before submitting your request for a stay. Please take time to read and check your request on each page of the process.

Prices will be as indicated on the Platform at the time you make your request for a stay.

The Member will be directed to a page with the details of the stay. If the Member submits incorrect data for any aspect of their order, WORLD IS A VILLAGE cannot be held liable. Any carelessness or negligence on the part of the Member may not be attributed to WORLD IS A VILLAGE.

Once you have confirmed your child’s stay, we will send you an email acknowledging receipt and detailing the stay request (date, places, family and duration) and the final price you will have to pay. Please be aware that this email does not constitute confirmation or acceptance of the stay, and we reserve the right to refuse the stay. Before confirming the stay, we must obtain the consent of the other family.

We will confirm our acceptance by sending you an email confirming the stay, dates, location and next steps before departure. The stay will only be confirmed once we have sent you this confirmation email, then the contract will be concluded between us (“the Confirmation”).

If the other family refuses an aspect of the stay, we will inform you very quickly so that you can discuss it with the family.

3.2 Digital Journey

In order to subscribe to and participate in Digital Journey, you must agree to the Terms of Sale. Our Services use DISCORD, therefore you must accept DISCORD’s general terms and conditions https://discord.com/new/terms when subscribing.

The general terms and conditions specified above are only applicable to DISCORD. Once you have agreed to them, they will apply to Digital Journey and to your use of the associated Services.

The age limit for creating an account varies depending on each country (please consult the following page: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040724612), you should, depending on the age of your child and your country of residence, either (i) create an Account for your child, or (ii) use your own Account to register your child on our private server.

WORLD IS A VILLAGE accepts no liability for the registration of a child aged under the age recommended by DISCORD.

Members are informed that there will be no educational assignment or game session during the school holiday week between Christmas and New Year of each year, or between 1 and 15 August of each year, or during any public holiday in France or the United Kingdom. However, Digital Journey remains accessible to adolescents, but only for them to communicate between themselves.

Outside these periods, if an educational assignment or game session were to be cancelled, Members would be informed and such assignment or session would be rescheduled.

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Pursuant to Articles 1365 et seq. of the French Civil Code and Article 1376 of the French Civil Code, WORLD IS A VILLAGE and Members accept and acknowledge the perfect validity of the contract concluded by electronic means. They therefore agree, electronically, to enter into the contract in accordance with the provisions of Article 1317 of the French Civil Code. Members agree not to challenge the admissibility, validity or probative force of the contract. The electronic document formalising the contract will be recorded in the files of WORLD IS A VILLAGE.

4. TERMS OF PURCHASE OF SERVICES

4.1 Prices

The Prices of Services are those stipulated on the Platform at any given time. Each Member will pay the applicable prices at the time the Member subscribes to the Services.

Currently the prices are as follows:

Homestay Travel:

Service charges (excluding foreign exchange charges): €150 incl. VAT. This sum is due when a family is matched with another family and recorded on the Platform. Service charges include private life liability insurance. This cover is provided by WORLD IS A VILLAGE, and its cost cannot be reimbursed or deducted from the service charges;
Repatriation and Medical Expenses Assistance is € 10 per night
Purchase of 100 WIV points, i.e. one night: € 25

Companies participating in Homestay Travel will be able to benefit from reduction coupons generated by WORLD IS A VILLAGE for the attention of their employees.

As part of promotional campaigns, WORLD IS A VILLAGE may also issue one-off discount coupons.

“Standard” Digital Journey:

€ 25.00 per month, or € 250.00 per year.

In the event of a monthly payment, the amount will be deducted at the time of subscription, then every month on the same date from the bank account whose details were provided when the Member subscribed. Each month started must be paid in full by the Member.

In the event of an annual payment, the amount is deducted when the Member subscribes and, unless cancelled by the Member (see section 5.2), the following years on the anniversary date of subscription from the bank account whose details were provided when the Member subscribed.

“Premium” Digital Journey:

€ 89.00 per month, or € 890.00 per year.

In the event of an annual payment, the amount will be deducted at the time of subscription and, unless cancelled by the Member (see section 5.2), the following years on the anniversary date of subscription from the bank account whose details were provided when the Member subscribed.

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The payment of all Services provided by WORLD IS A VILLAGE (service charges, insurance, WIV points) will be made online via the STRIPE platform.

The following cards can be used:

Visa
Discover
MasterCard
American Express
Diners Club
JCB

If you pay for your order with a bank card, you will be asked to enter the card’s details, during the payment process, and follow the instructions given.

Prices are provided based on the relevant exchange rates. Prices and taxes can therefore fluctuate every day based on exchange rate variations.

The prices of the Services may vary over time, but price changes will not affect any orders that you have already placed.

4.2 Minors

As regards Homestay Travel, a minor cannot subscribe to a stay. Only parents are allowed to use the Platform and organise a stay for their children.

As regards Digital Journey, a teenager can register only if the age stipulated in their country allows them to do so. DISCORD’s general terms and conditions set the age of teenager registration according to their country of residence. You should consult this list.

4.3 Compliance with the law applicable in each country for the use of the Services

You must comply with all applicable laws and regulations. We do not accept any liability in the event of a breach by you of any law.
Members shall not under any circumstances make any commercial or professional use of the Services or resell such Services, including a stay.

4.4 Administrative formalities only in the case of Homestay Travel

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are properly informed of, and that your children have, the visas, permission to travel abroad and vaccines required for entry and a stay in each country. Each country and each transport company (air, rail, and maritime company) has its own travel conditions. You should read them carefully and observe them with regard to the stay.
It is the Member’s responsibility to ensure that their children comply with the police, customs and health formalities.
In the event that your child does not comply with these rules and cannot complete their stay, no refund will be granted.

5. RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL AND CANCELLATION

5.1 Homestay Travel

WORLD IS A VILLAGE is entitled to terminated a stay or contact for legitimate reasons (e.g. if one of the families fails to respond).

You are legally authorized to terminate a contract under the regulations in force in your country (the “Regulations”) during a specific cancellation period. This means that, during the cancellation period, if you change your mind or decide for any other reason that you do not wish to send your child on the stay, you can inform us of your decision to terminate the contract and be reimbursed.

Your right to terminate a contract applies from the date of Confirmation; it being the date on which the contract is entered into between us. The cancellation period in force is 14 days beginning on the date of Confirmation.

To terminate a contract, all you need to do is to inform us of your decision.

You can send an email or contact our customer service team by telephone, email or post by writing to , or calling on + 33 or writing to 23, rue de Vienne 75008 Paris (FRANCE). If you send us an email or write to us, please include the details of your order to help us identify it. If you send us a notice of cancellation by email or post, your cancellation will take effect on the date you sent us the email or you posted the letter to us. For example, you will have given us notice in good time to the extent that you have posted your letter on the last day of the cancellation period or sent us an email before midnight that same day.

In the event of cancellation by the family sending their child or hosting a child, WORLD IS A VILLAGE will reimburse the service charges paid by the two families to WORLD IS A VILLAGE using the same means of payment as that used for the payment of the stay, unless expressly and otherwise requested by the Member, within 14 days. For the reimbursement of sums paid to the Insurer, travel agency, tour operator or to any other provider, the general terms and conditions of these service providers shall apply in managing the reimbursement.

In the event of cancellation of a stay after the 14-day period, no refund will be made by WORLD IS A VILLAGE. The same applies in the case of cancellation of a stay by just one of the families after the 14-day period.

5.2 Digital Journey

As part of a monthly subscription, you may terminate your registration with Digital Journey at any time, directly from your Account on the Platform.

Each month started must be paid in full by the Member.

For an annual subscription, the year is due in full and is non-refundable. Unless the Member terminates their Account at least thirty (30) days before the anniversary date of the registration, the annual subscription will be renewed at the end of the first year for a new period of one (1) year.

6. LIABILITY

6.1 Homestay Travel

WORLD IS A VILLAGE is solely responsible for putting families in contact with one another via the Platform in order that a child of one family may stay with the other. WORLD IS A VILLAGE accepts no liability if the stay did not go as planned or for an incident during the stay.

A Member must, in all transparency, inform the family in which their child is going to stay of any circumstance concerning the child that could affect their stay (persons with reduced mobility, with or without wheelchair; health problems; allergy; etc.) and not hide any information.

WORLD IS A VILLAGE accepts no liability for:

oral or written exchanges between families or their content when families are put in contact and matched, during the entire length of stay;
behaviour of children and families during the stay;
dissatisfaction in connection with the stay;
arrangements by which the stay is conducted;
contractual non-performance by one of the families;
information and data provided by families prior to departure or during the stay.

WORLD IS A VILLAGE cannot under any circumstances be considered as a tour operator or travel agency within the meaning of the French Tourism Code.

As regards the purchase of an Assistance Insurance, since it is only an intermediary between the Member and the Insurer, WORLD IS A VILLAGE cannot be held liable in respect of the insurance. In the event of loss or damage, the Member must contact Assur Travel in accordance with the terms of its policy.

6.2 Digital Journey

WORLD IS A VILLAGE only aims to offer educational content and activity to improve the level of teenagers’ conversation and, in this respect, to put teenagers in connect with one another across the world.

WORLD IS A VILLAGE accepts no liability for:

oral or written exchanges between teenagers in connection with Digital Journey on and outside DISCORD;
behaviour of teenagers between them;
functioning of DISCORD;
bad Internet connection preventing the smooth running of the programme.

The Service is provided without warranty of any kind whatsoever, and WORLD IS A VILLAGE has no obligation to you as regards performance.

The liability of WORLD IS A VILLAGE is confined to fault, negligence or breach of its obligations that caused you direct loss. Any loss suffered by a third party is consequential loss and will not give rise to compensation. WORLD IS A VILLAGE’S LIABILITY TO THE USER IS CONFINDED TO LOSS ARISING DIRECTLY FROM THE PERFORMANCE AND/OR NON-PERFORMANCE OF ITS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, IT BEING SPECIFIED THAT WORLD IS A VILLAGE’S TOTAL AND CUMULATIVE LIABILITY IS LIMITED, (i) IN RESPECT OF HOMESTAY TRAVEL, TO THE PRICE PAID BY THE MEMBER ON THE PLATEFORM WHEN BOOKING THE STAY, (ii) IN RESPECT OF DIGITAL JOURNEY, TO THE PRICE PAID BY THE MEMBER FOR THEIR SUBSCRIPTION TO DIGITAL JOURNEY FOR A PERIOD OF TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE CAUSAL EVENT.

With regard to the use of DISCORD for Digital Journey, WORLD IS A VILLAGE accepts no liability in this respect. In the event of loss, the Member must contact DISCORD directly, in accordance with DISCORD’s general terms and conditions.

7. EVENTS BEYOND OUR CONTROL

We accept no liability for the non-performance or delayed performance of any of our obligations to provide the Platform and Services caused by an Event Beyond Our Control.

An Event Beyond Our Control means any act or event beyond our control, including but not limited to strikes, lockouts or other third-party trade union actions, civil unrest, riots, invasions, terrorist acts or threats of terrorist acts, wars (whether declared or not), fire, explosions, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, epidemics or other natural disasters, or failures of public or private telecommunication networks, or the impossibility of using public or private transportation means as recognised by law or applicable case law.

If an Event Beyond Our Control occurs and affects the performance of our obligations:

we will contact you as soon as reasonably practicable to inform you; and
our obligations will be suspended and the deadline for performance of our obligations will be extended for the duration of the Event Beyond Our Control. If an Event Beyond Our Control affects the organisation of a stay, or the stay itself, the stay may be cancelled and rescheduled once the Event Beyond Our Control had ended or another family is found, without entitling you to any right to compensation.

8. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and us, and supersedes all prior agreements and communications. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid by any court, the invalidity of that provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement. A waiver will only be binding upon us if it is made in writing, and no waiver will be construed as a waiver in any other or subsequent case. Headings are included for convenience only and have no legal implications.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THESE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE GOVERNED BY FRENCH LAW. THIS MEANS THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE AND ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM RELATING THERETO WILL BE GOVERNED BY FRENCH LAW UNLESS CERTAIN PROVISIONS APPLICABLE IN YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE ARE MANDATORY, WHEN THEY ARE MORE FAVOURABLE TO THE CONSUMER. YOU AND WE AGREE THAT THE PARIS JUDICIAL COURT (TRIBUNAL JUDICIAIRE DE PARIS) WILL HAVE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION IF YOUR RESIDENCE IS LOCATED IN FRANCE.