A TEDxTeen attendee asks his girlfriend to the prom on the TODAY show before heading to TEDxTeen. (Also pictured is TODAY show's Dylan Dreyer.) / Rocco Staino

In this year’s fifth annual TEDxTeen event—a global event where teens and ideas come together—was held on Saturday, March 1 at the Scholastic Headquarters in New York City where approximately 250 teens participated in the event. Attendance at TEDxTeen is by application only, and 250 applicants were permitted to attend. According to Mark Barondess, one of the event’s founders, there were over 1,000 teens on this year’s waiting list. Candidates from over 35 foreign countries applied. The theme for this year’s event was “The Crazy Ones”—a theme chosen to highlight young people who follow their hearts and believe in their dreams. Grammy-winning musician and songwriter Nile Rodgers is the founder and chairman of the We Are Family Foundation that organized the TedxTeen event. The organization uses this event to amplify youth’s efforts to solve problems. Growing up in New York City’s Soho, where the event was held, Rodgers recalled his struggle to become a musician. His struggle eventually lead him to write such iconic songs as “We Are Family,” “Like a Virgin,” and “Let’s Dance.” Among the 14 TEDxTeen presenters include Tim Doner, an 18-year-old polyglot who chronicles his journey studying over 23 languages—including Ojibwe, Pashto and Swahili—on YouTube. And Marah Zahalk, the youngest member of the all-women street racing team in Palestine known as Speed Sisters. Also speaking at the event was Alex Klein, tech writer and founder of the most successful learning product funded by Kickstarter called Kano, which is a computer-building tool that teaches basic programming. His Kickstarter campaign raised $1.5 million in 30 days. From the comic book world, Sana Amanat, a comic book editor at Marvel Entertainment and co-creator of the first Muslim female superheroine, Kamala Khan, spoke to the audience about the power of story. Amanat develops creative content, which includes the first African-American and Latino Spider-man. During the program, she described her Muslim-American childhood where superheroes like the X-Men served as her role models, and how she saw the need for a strong Muslim hero to breakdown stereotypes and build confidence for young Muslims. The next TEDxTeen event will be hosted in London on October 11, 2014.