Volunteer Agreement

Last Updated: 16 June 2026

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Undercover Refugee.

These Volunteer Terms and Conditions are intended to establish clear expectations, protect the privacy of all participants, and help ensure the smooth operation of the project.

By agreeing to these terms and participating as a volunteer, you acknowledge and accept the following conditions.

Definitions

For the purposes of these Volunteer Terms and Conditions:

Undercover Refugee means the project operated through the website https://www.undercoverrefugee.com and its associated resources.

Volunteer means the individual applying for or participating in the Undercover Refugee volunteer programme.

Manager means the person appointed by Undercover Refugee to supervise volunteers and administer the volunteer programme.

Project Resources means any files, documents, communication channels, systems, shared folders, training materials, or other resources provided for volunteer activities.

Content Contribution means any article, guide, FAQ, update, revision, template, checklist, research summary, or other content submitted by a Volunteer.

Confidential Information means any non-public information relating to Undercover Refugee, its volunteers, managers, communications, systems, resources, or operations.

Pen Name means the author name used by a Volunteer for publication purposes.

Volunteer Status

Volunteer participation is voluntary and unpaid unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Volunteers are not employees, contractors, agents, representatives, or partners of Undercover Refugee.

Participation in the project does not create an employment relationship or entitlement to compensation, benefits, or future opportunities.

Good Faith Participation

Volunteers must participate in good faith and for the genuine purpose of contributing to the project.

The Volunteer confirms that they are not seeking access to the project on behalf of a media organization, journalist, researcher, advocacy group, government agency, investigator, intelligence service, commercial organization, or any other third party for the purpose of obtaining non-public project information.

The Volunteer agrees not to collect, compile, publish, distribute, disclose, or otherwise use internal project information, volunteer information, management information, communications, documents, or materials for any external publication, report, investigation, research project, commercial activity, or similar purpose.

Providing false or misleading information regarding the purpose of participation may result in immediate removal from the project.

Code of Conduct

Volunteers are expected to conduct themselves professionally, respectfully, and in good faith at all times.

Volunteers must:

• Communicate honestly and respectfully with project management.
• Follow project guidelines, procedures, and instructions.
• Respect the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals associated with the project.
• Use project resources only for legitimate volunteer purposes.
• Inform project management if circumstances significantly affect their ability to participate.

Volunteers must not:

• Attempt to obtain personal information about volunteers, applicants, contributors, managers, or other individuals associated with the project unless such information has been intentionally provided for a legitimate project purpose.
• Engage in phishing, impersonation, deception, social engineering, or any activity intended to obtain information that has not been voluntarily provided.
• Use volunteer participation to conduct investigations, research projects, intelligence gathering, media reporting, advocacy activities, or similar activities unrelated to approved volunteer work.
• Harass, threaten, intimidate, discriminate against, or deliberately disrupt project activities.
• Share project information with unauthorized individuals.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to project systems, files, accounts, or communications.

Confidentiality

Volunteers agree to keep all non-public project information confidential.

Volunteers must not share, copy, distribute, screenshot, record, publish, or disclose internal project information, files, communications, documents, discussions, systems, or materials outside the project.

Confidentiality obligations continue after a volunteer leaves the project.

Privacy and Identity Protection

Volunteers may be required to use a project-approved pen name when publishing content.

Volunteers must not disclose the identity, involvement, role, personal information, or contact information of any volunteer, contributor, manager, applicant, or other person associated with the project.

Volunteers must not publicly represent themselves as speaking on behalf of Undercover Refugee unless specifically authorized to do so by project management.

Access to Information

Volunteers understand that they will not have access to the personal information, contact details, identities, or private communications of other volunteers, applicants, contributors, managers, or individuals associated with the project except where such information is intentionally shared for legitimate project purposes.

Access to project systems, files, communication channels, and resources is granted solely for volunteer purposes and may be modified, restricted, or revoked at any time.

Volunteers must not attempt to obtain information that has not been intentionally provided to them as part of their volunteer activities.

Content Ownership

All articles, guides, documents, research summaries, templates, images, and other content submitted to Undercover Refugee as part of volunteer activities become the property of Undercover Refugee upon submission and acceptance.

Volunteers retain no ownership rights over accepted content and may not request its removal after publication.

Undercover Refugee may edit, revise, update, combine, republish, translate, archive, or remove volunteer-submitted content at its discretion.

Project Systems and Security

Volunteers are responsible for maintaining the security of their own email accounts, Telegram accounts, cloud storage accounts, devices, and passwords.

Volunteers must not share project access links, project files, project communications, or project resources with unauthorized individuals.

Volunteers must promptly notify project management if they become aware of any security issue, unauthorized access, or suspected compromise involving project resources.

Ending the Volunteer Relationship

Volunteers may leave the project at any time and with immediate effect.

A volunteer may notify project management of their decision to leave through Telegram or through any of the contact methods listed on the project's Contact Us page.

Volunteers who leave the project are welcome to apply again in the future should their circumstances change.

Project management may also end a volunteer relationship at any time and with immediate effect by communicating the decision through Telegram, email, or any other available project communication channel.

If a volunteer becomes inactive or fails to respond to project communications within 72 hours without explanation, project management may reasonably conclude that the volunteer is no longer interested in participating and may end the volunteer relationship or remove access to project resources.

Project management may also place volunteer activities on hold or temporarily suspend participation where appropriate.

Upon leaving the project, access to project resources may be removed.

Confidentiality obligations continue after departure.

Volunteer References

Volunteers who contribute a minimum of ten (10) approved content contributions may request a volunteer reference letter.

Reference letters are not issued automatically and must be specifically requested by the volunteer.

Reference letters are issued on Undercover Refugee letterhead, signed by the project manager, and made available through the volunteer's shared Google Drive folder.

The content of any reference letter will be determined by project management and may take into account the volunteer's communication, reliability, professionalism, quality of work, and overall contribution to the project.

Acceptance of any reference letter remains entirely at the discretion of the employer, institution, organization, or other party receiving it.

Changes to These Terms

Undercover Refugee may update these Volunteer Terms and Conditions from time to time.

Volunteers will be notified of significant changes where reasonably practical.

Agreement Confirmation

By agreeing to these Volunteer Terms and Conditions, the Volunteer confirms that they have read, understood, and agreed to comply with the requirements outlined above.