Security in Austria encompasses not only protection against crime and external threats but also the defence of democratic values and education. The SEEDS (Security Education by Empowering Democratic Strength) project aims to support democratic education by analysing students’ knowledge and interest in security policy issues and developing solutions to promote a resilient understanding of democracy.

In order to achieve the goals of political education, the facilitation of an age-appropriate understanding of Austrian security policy, sovereignty and neutrality as well as the liberal-democratic basic values of its political institutions must be further developed. This redesign must also consider the prevalent information sources among young people and how they interact with them.

The research and innovation project SEEDS addresses the strategic advancement of political education. For this purpose, the knowledge levels and interests of students in security policy topics, as well as the sources of information they use, are surveyed. The implementation of a structured needs analysis, involving the participatory engagement of students, teachers, and experts from the fields of education and security, identifies gaps and requirements necessary to foster an understanding of national security policy issues in Austrian school education.