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Let the kids play out: Alice Ferguson at TEDxBedford

2,126 views · Published 15 July 2013 · 14:49 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2013 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Alice Ferguson, co-founder of grassroots 'Playing Out' street play movement is joining TEDxBedford to encourage us to get to know our neighbours and let our kids reclaim our streets for play.

Alice ran a health food shop before working for various environmental and social change organisations and completing a Masters in Environment and Development studies at SOAS. Two children later and after a stint living in rural France, Alice became more focussed on community activism and in particular improving children's access to play space and ability to get around their neighbourhood independently.

On International Children's Day 2009, Alice and her neighbour Amy decided to close their street to through traffic for 2 hours after school so that the children could safely play out together. They then supported other local streets in to do the same and set up a website (www.playingout.net) to help seed the idea far and wide. Since then, Playing Out has grown into a national movement, with people all over the country successfully lobbying their councils to allow regular road closures for play and putting the time and energy into making it happen. Alice will join us to tell the story of Playing Out as an example of how we can all start activating social change, starting in our own streets.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

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