TED Cities in partnership with the Ford Foundation present "TEDCity2.0", happening at TimesCenter in New York City tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 20. From 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Time, TEDCity2.0 event will focus on encouraging global conversation about the future of the world's cities. Also on the same day, more than 100 TEDxCity2.0 community events will be held by local organizers worldwide for 48 hours.

Instead of offering the annual TED Prize to an outstanding individual with revolutionary ideas for change, TED offered the Prize to City2.0, wherein 10 grants of $10,000 were given to innovative ideas of urban transformation around the world throughout 2012.

Friday's program has four sessions, each with a series of talks revolving on central themes like art, education, food, health, housing, public space, play, and safety. Each session will be hosted by Chris Anderson, Courtney Martin, or John Cary.

More than 20 speakers will be featured in tomorrow's event, including several recipients of the 2012 City 2.0 Award mentioned earlier. The mixed lineup includes Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, U.S. Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan, architects Diébédo Francis Kéré and Chris Downey, Emily May of Hollaback!, photographer Iwan Baan, aural artist Jason Sweeney, and more.

"We believed it was critical to spur this conversation on a global level, not just in an auditorium here at home. Given that global populations are migrating over the next 30 years from rural to urban centers, the future of our world's cities is an issue that touches much of humanity -- urgently," TED Director Lara Stein said. "That's why we tapped the TEDx community to help us turn what might have just been a single, local event here in New York City into a worldwide experience: more than 100 TEDxCity2.0 events, from Asia to Africa to Europe, will be replicated tomorrow simultaneously around the world."

A free livestream of the event will be available here on Friday. You can join the conversation by commenting on the TED Conversations page or by following @TEDCity2_0 and @FordFoundation for live updates and highlights.
Official hashtag: #TEDCity2

To read the official press release, click here.
Additional content can be found on City2.0's Facebook, the TED website and blog, and FordFoundation.org.